library  of 
Cl]e  Uutcersitij  of  tfortl]  Carolina 

COLLECTION     OF 

NORTH    CAROLINIAN  A 


E  N  D  O  \V  E  D      B  Y 

JOHN     SPRUNT     HILL 
of  the  class  of  1889 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00032690491 


FOR  USE  ONLY  IN 
THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  COLLECTION 


Form  No.  A-368,  Rev.  8/95 


iSc^AKflSS    sA,  M  li  ! 


MEMORIAL  ADDRESSES 


LIFE  AND  CHARACTER 


JAMES   M.  MOODY, 

(Late  a  Representative  from  North  Carolina), 


DELIVERED    IN     I  HE 


HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  AND  SENATE, 


FIFTY-SEVENTH    C(  INGRESS, 
Second  Session. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT     PRINTING     OFFICE. 
I9O3. 


C<  )XTENTS. 


Page. 

Proceedings  in  the  House  of  Representatives 5 

Address  of  Mr.  Kluttz,  of  North  Carolina 9 

Remarks  of  Rev.  J.  E.  Abernethy 12 

Address  of  Mr.  Pou,  of  North  Carolina 15 

Address  of  Mr.  Gibson,  of  Tennessee 17 

Address  of  Mr.  Thomas,  of  North  Carolina 22 

Address  of  Mr.  Small,  of  North  Carolina 27 

Address  of  Mr.  W.  W.  Kitchin,  of  North  Carolina 31 

Address  of  Mr.  Lamb,  of  Virginia 35 

Address  of  Mr.  Clark,  of  Missouri 3s 

Address  of  Mr.  Johnson,  of  South  Carolina. 40 

Address  of  Mr.  Blackburn,  of  North  Carolina 42 

Proceedings  in  the  Senate 47 

Address  of  Mr.  Pritchard,  of  North  Carolina 53 

Address  of  Mr.  Mallory,  of  Florida 56 

3 


Death  of  Representative  Moody. 


Proceedings  in  the  House. 

February  5,  1903. 
representative  moody,  of  north  carolina. 

Mr.  KxuTTz.  Mr.  Speaker,  it  is  my  sad  duty  to  announce  to 
the  House  the  death  of  my  friend  and  colleague,  Hon.  James 
MontrayillE  Moody,  a  member  of  this  House  from  the  State 
of  North  Carolina.  He  died  at  1.30  o'clock  p.  m.  to-day  at  his 
home  in  Waynesville,  N.  C.  This  House  has  lost  one  of  its 
most  faithful  and  useful  members,  and  his  State  a  public  serv- 
ant who  has  honored  her  in  this  Congress,  as  in  every  other 
official  position  he  has  ever  held. 

I  shall  not  at  this  time  trust  myself  to  make  any  extended 
remarks,  but  at  some  future  day  his  colleagues  will  ask  the 
House  to  take  such  action  upon  his  death  as  in  its  judgment  is 
proper.  I  ask  the  adoption  of  the  resolutions  which  I  send  to 
the  desk. 

The  Clerk  read  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  the  House  of  Representatives  has  learned  with  profound 
sorrow  of  the  death  of  the  Hon.  Jamks  Montrayii.i.K  Moody,  member 
of  this  House  from  the  State  of  North  Carolina. 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  members  of  the  House,  with  such  mem- 
bers of  the  Senate  as  may  be  joined,  be  appointed  to  take  order  concern- 
ing the  funeral  of  the  deceased. 

Resolved,  That  the  Clerk  communicate  these  resolutions  to  the  Senate, 
and  transmit  a  copy  of  the  same  to  the  family  of  the  deceased. 

Resolved,  That  as  a  further  mark  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  the 
deceased,  the  House  do  now  adjourn. 

5 


6  Proceedings  in  the  House. 

The  Speaker  pro  tempore.  The  question  is  on  the  adoption 
of  the  resolution. 

The  question  was  taken;  and  pending  the  announcement  of 
the  vote,  by  unanimous  consent  of  the  House,  the  vSpeaker  pro 
tempore  announced  the  names  of  the  following  members  to 
attend  the  funeral  of  the  deceased:  Mr.  Kluttz,  of  North  Caro- 
lina; Mr.  Blackburn,  of  North  Carolina;  Mr.  Claude  Kitchin,  of 
North  Carolina;  Mr.  Brownlow,  of  Tennessee;  Mr.  Gibson,  of 
Tennessee;  Mr.  Tate,  of  Georgia;  Mr.  Finley,  of  South  Caro- 
lina; Mr.  Johnson,  of  South  Carolina;  Mr.  Lamb,  of  Virginia; 
Mr.  Haugen,  of  Iowa;  Mr.  Henry,  of  Connecticut;  Mr.  Randell, 
of  Texas;  Mr.  Cooney,  of  Missouri;  Mr.  Pou,  of  North  Carolina; 
Mr.  Small,  of  North  Carolina;  Mr.  Clark,  of  Missouri;  Mr. 
Wright,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Mr.  Cochran,  of  Missouri. 

The  resolutions  were  agreed  to;  and  then,  in  accordance 
therewith,  and  in  pursuance  of  its  previous  order  (at  5  o'clock 
and  5  minutes  p.  m.),  the  House  adjourned  until  10  o'clock 
a.  m.  to-morrow. 

February  10,  1903. 

memorial  services  on  the  late  representative  moody. 

Mr.  Kluttz.  Mr.  vSpeaker,  I  ask  unanimous  consent  for  the 
present  consideration  of  the  resolution  I  send  to  the  Clerk's 
desk. 

The  Clerk  read  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  when  the  House  meets  on  Sunday,  February  22,  1903,  it 
shall  consider  resolutions  memorial  of  the  life  and  public  services  of  Hon. 
JAMBS  M.  MOODY,  late  a  Representative  from  the  Ninth  Congressional 
district  of  North  Carolina. 

The  Speaker  pro  tempore.  The  gentleman  from  North 
Carolina  asks  unanimous  consent  for  the  present  consideration 
of  the  resolution.      Is  there  objection? 

There  was  no  objection. 

The  resolution  was  agreed  to. 


MEMORIAL  ADDRESSES. 

February  22,  1903. 

The  House  met  at  12  o'clock  m.,  and  was  called  to  order 
by  Mr.  Moody,  as  Speaker  pro  tempore. 

•  The  Chaplain  of  the  House,  Rev.  Henry  N.  Couden,  D.  D., 
offered  the  following  prayer: 

Eternal,  ever  living  God,  our  Heavenly  Father,  we  bless 
Thee  for  that  spirit  of  patriotism  and  profound  gratitude  which 
moves  the  people  throughout  our  nation  to  meet  in  commem- 
oration of  the  birth  of  him  whom  we  delight  to  call  the  Father 
of  our  Country.  We  thank  Thee  for  that  mentality  which 
enabled  him  to  grasp  and  solve  great  problems;  for  that  divi- 
nation which  enabled  him  to  penetrate  the  future  and  predict 
results;  for  that  personality  which  enabled  him  to  command 
men;  for  the  fervor  of  his  religious  nature  which  enabled 
him  to  rely  upon  Thee  for  strength  and  support,  and  which 
brought  him  to  his  knees  at  Valley  Forge,  the  darkest  hour  in 
that  struggle  for  liberty,  right,  and  justice,  where  he  received 
consolation  and  light.  Long  may  his  memory  live  in  the 
hearts  of  his  countrymen,  and  longer  yet  his  deeds  inspire 
men  to  truer,  nobler  life. 

We  meet  here  to-day  in  special  service  to  commemorate  the 
lives  and  characters  of  men  who  have  wrought  upon  the  floor 
of  this  House  and  made  conspicuous  their  names  in  history. 
We  bless  Thee  for  them  and  for  what  they  did.  Let  the  light 
which  came  down  from  Heaven  in  the  person  of  Thy  Son  fill 
the  hearts  of  the  bereaved,  that  they  may  see  beyond  the  veil 

7 


8  Manorial  Addresses. 

that  larger  life  in  the  mansions  above.  Through  Jesus  Christ, 
our  L,ord.     Amen, 

Mr.  KlutTZ.  Mr.  Speaker,  I  offer  the  resolutions  which  I 
send  to  the  Clerk's  desk. 

The  Speaker  pro  tempore.  The  gentleman  from  North 
Carolina  offers  the  resolutions  which  the  Clerk  will  report. 

The  Clerk  read  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  in  pursuance  of  the  special  order  heretofore  adopted, 
the  House  proceed  to  pay  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  Hon.  Jamks 
MONTRAVm,E  Moody,  late  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
from  the  State  of  North  Carolina. 

Resolved,  That  as  a  particular  mark  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  the 
deceased,  and  in  recognition  of  his  eminent  abilities  as  a  faithful  and 
distinguished  public  servant,  the  House  at  the  conclusion  of  the  memorial 
proceedings  shall  stand  adjourned. 

Resolved,  That  the  Clerk  communicate  these  resolutions  to  the  Senate. 

Resolved,  That  the  Clerk  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  instructed  to  send  a  copy 
of  these  resolutions  to  the  family  of  the  deceased.     - 

The  resolutions  were  agreed  to. 

March  2,  1903. 

-message  from  the  senate. 

The  message  also  announced  that  the  Senate  had  passed  the 
following  resolutions: 

Resolved,  That  the  Senate  has  heard  with  profound  sorrow  the  an- 
nouncement of  the  death  of  Hon.  James  M.  Moody,  late  a  Representative 
from  the  State  of  North  Carolina. 

Resolved,  That  the  business  of  the  Senate  be  now  suspended,  in  order 
that  fitting  tribute  be  paid  to  his  memory. 

Resolved,  That  as  an  additional  mark  of  respect  the  Senate,  at  the  con- 
clusion of  these  ceremonies,  do  adjourn. 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  communicate  these  resolutions  to  the 
House  of  Representatives. 


Address  of  Mr.  R'lutts,  of  North  Carolina. 


Address  of  Mr.  Kluttz,  of  North  Carolina. 

Mr.  Speaker:  James  Montrayille  Moody  was  my  warm 
personal  friend.  I  had  known  him  for  many  years,  and  our 
friendship  dated  from  our  first  acquaintance.  We  differed 
widely  in  politics,  but  it  is  a  pleasure  now  to  recollect  that  our 
personal  relations  were  never  affected  thereby.  He  was  a  true 
son  of  North  Carolina,  and  his  heart  was  big,  like  the  moun- 
tains at  whose  base  he  was  born  and  reared  and  buried. 

No  man  in  a  single  term  in  Congress  ever  acquired  more 
general  esteem  and  confidence  than  he. 

Never  noisy  or  demonstrative,  but  always  courteous,  oblig- 
ing, indefatigable,  intelligent,  he  compelled  the  good  will  of 
his  associates  and  accomplished  much  for  his  constituents. 

So  lately  did  he  move  among  us  in  apparent  health  and 
strength  it  is  hard  to  realize  that,  in  the  very  maturity  of  his 
powers,  he  has  gone  from  us  to  join  the  silent  "democracy  of 
the  dead. ' '  Few  who  met  him  in  his  last  days  of  service  here 
knew  that  he  was  bearing  about  with  him,  consciously,  yet 
bravely  and  silently,  the  almost  certainty  of  his  speedy  out- 
going.    L,oyal  to  his  own,   he  went  home  to  die. 

Born  February  12,  1S58,  he  was  not  yet  45  years  of  age,  yet 
in  the  brief  span  of  his  life  he  had  filled  man}'  positions  of 
trust,   and  always  with  honor. 

As  prosecuting  attorney  for  his  judicial  district,  as  State 
senator,  as  major  and  division  commissary  in  the  Spanish- 
American  war,  and  latterly  as  a  Representative  in  this  House, 
he  had  worn  all  honors  worthily  and  well.  Simple  in  his 
habits,  unostentatious  in  his  manner,  genial  in  his  address, 
candid,    and    yet    considerate   of    the    feelings   of    all,  he    was 


io  Life  and  Character  of  James  M.  Moody. 

emphatically  a  man  of  the  people,  and  the  people  loved  him. 
Most  touching  were  the  demonstrations  of  affection  and  regret 
as  we  laid  him  to  rest  beneath  the  shadows  of  his  own  loved 
mountains,  his  bier  surrounded  by  weeping  multitudes  of  life- 
long friends  and  neighbors.  A  beloved  wife  and  six  devoted 
children  survive  him,  but  they  mourn  not  as  those  who  have 
no  hope,  for  in  life,  "before  the  evil  days  came  nigh,"  he 
made  his  peace  with  God  and  died  in  that  peace  which  passeth 
all  understanding. 

Let  us  be  warned  of  the  uncertainty  of  life  by  his  untimely 
taking  off. 

Art  is  long,  and  time  is  fleeting, 

And  our  hearts,  though  stout  and  brave, 
Still  like  muffled  drums  are  beating 

Funeral  marches  to  the  grave. 

Decay  and  dissolution  are  irrevocably  written  by  the  iron 
pen  of  destiny  across  the  page  of  life.  L,ife  and  death  are 
interwoven  in  our  being  in  the  very  hour  of  birth,  and  in  all 
life  we  bear  the  seeds  and  certainty  of  death.  The  conflict 
between  these  forces  is  irrepressible,  the  end  inevitable. 

"It  is  appointed  unto  all  men  once  to  die. "  "  One  event 
happeneth  to  all;  as  dies  the  fool  so  dies  the  wise  man." 

Fortunate  is  our  endowment,  that  we  can  not  fully  realize 
these  great  truths  in  personal  application,  else  life  would  be  but 
living  death. 

And  yet  to  each  of  us  the  dread  summons  must  come,  as  it- 
has  come  to  all  who  have  lived  before  us. 
The  fathers,  where  are  they? 

To  each  of  us,  if  spared  from  ' '  battle,  murder,  and  sudden 
death,"  there  will  some  time  come  a  sickness  unto  death. 
There  will  be  a  last  gathering  of  friends  and  loved  ones  around 
the  bedside,  a  few  faintly  spoken  adieus,  a  stilling  of  the  life 
pulse,  and  the  dark  wing  of  the  death  angel  will  brush  out  our 


Address  of  Mr.  Kluttz,  of  North  Carolina.  n 

mortal  vision  forever.  There  will  be  the  hush  of  whispered 
voices,  and  the  soft  tread  of  slippered  feet  in  the  silent  chamber 
of  death,  a  little  cortege  to  the  tomb,  and  the  clods  of  the 
valley  will  cover  us. 

And  is  this  all?  Endeth  thus  the  dream  of  life  in  the  dark- 
ness and  death  damp  of  the  grave? 

Shall  the  funeral  pall  enshroud  us  forever?  Has  He  who 
planted  reproductive  life  in  the  insensate  and  inanimate  failed 
or  forgotten  it  in  his  highest  creature,  man?  Is  man  of  less 
account  than  seed,  and  fruit  and  flower,  and  egg  and  nut,  that 
he  should  die  forever,  while  the}'  perpetuate  life  perennially? 

Nay,  verily  the  lesson  of  all  life  is  that  man  is  immortal  and 
his  life  eternal. 

The  grave  but  vainly  entombs  the  chrysalis  of  immortality. 

"If  a  man  die,  shall  he  live  again?"  Yea  and  amen;  by 
every  analogy  of  life,  by  every  law  of  nature,  by  every  principle 
of  evolution,  by  every  deduction  of  biology,  by  every  yearning 
of  the  soul,  by  every  revelation  of  God  he  shall  live  again,  and 
live  forever.  Annihilation  is  the  exceptional  nightmare  of 
wailing  despair;  immortality  the  universal  intuition  of  hoping 
humanity. 

And  what  of  that  life  in  the  great  beyond?  We  build  for 
it  here  day  by  day,  and  as  certainly  as  the  builder  determines 
the  character  of  his  structure  by  the  material  used,  so  certainly 
do  we  determine  our  status  in  the  great  hereafter  by  the  life 
we  now  live  in  the  flesh.  "Be  not  deceived;  whatsoever  a 
man  soweth  that  shall  he  also  reap." 

It  is  a  consolation  to  believe  that  our  departed  friend  builded 
well;  that  he  found  the  more  than  philosopher's  stone — the 
pearl  of  great  price — and  that  it  is  well  with  his  soul. 

The  admonition  of  this  solemn  hour  is,  "Be  ye  also  ready, 
for  in  such  an  hour  as  ve  think  not  the  Son  of  Man  cometh." 


12  Life  and  Character  of  James  M.  Moody. 

Mr.  vSpeaker,  I  ask  permission  to  append  to  these  remarks 
some  extracts  from  the  funeral  address  by  Rev.  J.  E.  Abernethy, 
pastor  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  of  Waynesville, 
N.  C,  who  was  Mr.  Moody's  pastor.  I  also  ask  unanimous 
consent  that  members  who  so  desire  may  have  leave  to  print. 

The  Spf  yker  pro  tempore.  That  order  has  already  been 
made. 

The  extracts  from  the  funeral  address  of  Rev.  J.  E.  Abernethy 
are  as  follows: 

Like  the  majority  of  great  men,  Mr. Moody  spent  the  first  part  of  his 
life  in  the  midst  of  stubborn  difficulties.  While  he  was  only  a  poor  boy 
laboring  on  the  farm,  ardent  desires  to  become  useful  and  distinguished, 
hopes  and  dreams  of  future  greatness,  those  voiceless  longings  for  im- 
mortality, filled  his  veins  with  fire.  The  restless  emulation  that  at  first 
thrilled  his  ambitious  heart  at  the  mention  of  great  names,  the  wild  hopes 
which  flushed  the  cheek  and  made  the  pulse  beat  quick  as  he  pondered 
upon  the  future,  never  left  him.  His  heart  was  of  heroic  mold.  As  he 
struggled  up  the  steep  and  thorny  way  of  life,  his  might}'  courage  laughed 
at  the  obstacles  that  crowded  about  him.  Difficulties  that  have  daunted 
and  dismayed  other  men  were  but  stepping  stones  to  him.  He  had  that 
assurance  which  is  ever  the  companion  of  genius  and  that  royal  faith 
whose  eagle  eye  pierced  through  the  darkest  night  and  saw  the  day 
beyond.  Like  the  boy  of  Sparta,  when  his  sword  was  too  short  he  added 
a  step  to  it.     Finally  he  was  crowned  with  success. 

For  twenty  years  he  has  been  a  leader  in  almost  every  public  interest  of 
this  county.  His  optimistic  spirit,  his  commanding  presence,  his  wealth  of 
of  common  sense,  always  placed  him  in  the  forefront  of  the  great  movements 
of  his  people.     He  had  the  divine  art  of  doing  great  things  with  ease. 

As  a  representative  of  the  bar  he  was  one  of  the  most  successful  of  the 
State.  He  was  especially  prominent  as  a  criminal  lawyer.  His  public 
service  gave  general  satisfaction  to  all  classes  of  people,  regardless  of  faith 
or  party.  As  State  senator,  as  Congressman,  no  man  ever  labored  more 
enthusiastically  for  the  good  of  his  county.  He  seemed  to  have  every 
man's  interest  at  heart,  and  he  labored  hard  that  he  might  do  the  best  for 
each  and  all.  He  was  devoted  to  his  work,  and  no  social  occasion  ever 
persuaded  him  away  from  duty. 

But  it  is  not  necessary  to  speak  at  length  of  his  public  services.  Their 
character  is  the  best  attestation  of  their  worth  and  sincerity.  They  glow 
upon  his  country's  history.  They  burn  in  shimmering  glory  upon  his 
country's  banner.  They  are  written  upon  hearts  of  multitudes  with  a 
stylus  of  fire. 


Address  of  Mr.  Kluttz,  of  North  Carolina.  13 

As  a  man  he  was  a  center  of  attraction,  a  favorite  among  all  classes  of 
people.  To  know  him  was  to  love  him.  His  great  heart  and  personal 
magnetism,  his  manly  sympathy  and  noble  affability,  charmed  thousands 
into  his  friendship.  On  this  ground  many  men  of  the  opposite  political 
faith   forgot  their  own  party  and   voted   for  him. 

It  has  been  said  that  he  was  as  familiar  with  the  Congressmen,  the 
President,  and  his  Cabinet,  as  he  was  with  the  men  of  his  own  town,  and 
at  the  same  time  the  poorest  boy -the  most  friendless  man  in  all  these 
mountains — found  in  him  a  friend  in  the  truest  sense.  He  was  preemi- 
nently a  friend  to  the  poor  and  needy.  When  he  could  help  his  friends, 
he  did.it  promptly  and  with  great  pleasure.  When  he  was  unable  to  do  a 
friend  a  favor  he  did  not  rest  until  he  found  some  one  who  could.  He 
was  often  in  debt,  but  it  was  due  to  the  fact  that  he  borrowed  money  to 
lighten  some  man's  burden. 

Like  all  other  men,  he  had  his  faults,  but  he  was  so  generous,  so  chari- 
table, so  warm-hearted,  so  great  that  many  people  never  recognized  any- 
thing in  his  life  but  the  virtues  that  made  him  prominent.  He  was  a 
man  of  marked  character,  of  pronounced  qualities,  of  Roman  dignity, 
and  deserved  distinction.  There  was  an  inflexible  integrity  in  his  public 
conduct,  an  indescribable  fascination  in  his  familiar  conversation,  a  con- 
densed energy  in  his  discourse,  a  quickness  of  perception,  a  vigor  of 
deduction,  a  directness  and  devotedness  of  purpose  in  all  he  did  as  a 
representative  of  the  people. 

Major  MOODY'S  life  was  an  incarnation  of  the  proverb  of  Sallust: 
"Every  man  is  the  architect  of  his  own  fortune." 

Many  a  poor  and  helpless  boy  will  see  in  his  life  an  illustration  of  the 
mighty  fact  that  the  way  to  greatness  is  open  to  all,  and  from  that  illus- 
tration many  will  receive  an  inspiration  to  rise  from  their  poverty,  igno- 
rance, and  lethargy,  and  take  the  way  that  leads  to  prosperity  and 
renown.  Great  men  by  the  study  of  his  life  will  become  greater. 
Representatives  from  our  Government  will  receive  from  his  example  a 
new  accession  to  their  love  of  patriotism  and  their  passion  for  national 
prosperity. 

The  news  of  his  death  waked  the  keenest  grief  in  the  hearts  of  thou- 
sands. Countless  homes  have  been  darkened  by  the  shadow  of  this 
death  angel's  wing.  Language  has  no  power  to  express  the  overshadow- 
ing, overpowering  sense  of  our  country's  common  loss. 

When  his  spirit  left  us,  we  could  but  exclaim — 

"  Another  beacon  light  blown  out  above  us, 
Another  buoy  bell  stilled  upon  the  sea." 

We  all  but  feel  as  if  a  corpse  were  lying  in  our  own  homes. 

Now  that  he  has  been  taken  from  our  midst,  he  who  has  been  a  guide 
and  a  leader  in  this  generation,  he  who  has  been  so  strong  to  stand  and 
so  bold  to  go  forward,  he  who  has  been   such  a  fortress  and  tower  to  so 


14  Life  and  Character  of  fames  M.  Moody. 

many— now  that  he  is  gone  forever,  may  God's  richest  blessings  rest  upon 
all  who  are  bereaved. 

Heavenly  Father,  send  Thy  grace  and  consolation  to  this  mourning 
people.  Bless  the  wife— Thou  who  hast  put  in  the  Holy  Bible  so  many 
words  for  the  widow,  bless  and  comfort  and  guide  her  through  life. 

Let  Thy  richest  grace  comfort  these  children.  Lead  each  one  of  them 
into  the  very  best  and  most  useful  life.  Grant  unto  them  to  feel  the 
immense  responsibility  of  inheriting  the  fame  of  their  father.  God 
Almighty,  bless  every  friend  and  loved  one  who  has  been  made  sad  by 
this  death. 

Help  us  all,  Thou  great  God  of  our  salvation,  help  us  all  to  consecrate 
our  lives  to  Jesus  Christ.  May  we  all  be  a  blessing  to  our  country  and 
make  our  generation  better  for  having  lived. 

Finally,  give  us  a  home  in  Thy  glorious  and  eternal  Kingdom,  and  the 
praise  shall  be  Thine  forever. 


Address  of  Mr.  Pou,  of  North  Carolina.  15 


Address  of  Mr.  Pou,  of  North  Carolina. 

Mr.  SPEAKER:  Others  have  spoken  of  the  life  work  of  our 
deceased  friend.  Others  have  told  of  the  struggle  of  his  early 
manhood;  how  he  overcame  every  obstacle  and  rose  to  promi- 
nence; of  his  success  at  the  bar  and  in  the  political  arena.  It 
is  merely  my  purpose  to  place  a  little  bunch  of  acacias  on  his 
grave  in  token  of  my  friendship  for  my  dead  colleague. 

While  his  name  still  lingers  upon  the  records  of  this  Con- 
gress, while  we  still  see  his  familiar  face,  it  is  well  we  should 
pause  to  speak  of  his  good  qualities,  that  those  who  come  after 
us  may  know  that  when  James  M.  Moody  died  his  State  lost 
a  devoted  son  and  his  country  a  patriotic  Representative  in 
Congress. 

How  soon  the  greatest  are  almost  entirely  forgotten!  For 
a  moment  we  may  think  the  services  of  the  most  eminent 
member  of  this  body  are  indispensable  to  his  country,  and  yet, 
when  Providence  shall  call  him  hence,  his  place  will  be  imme- 
diately filled  and  the  machinery  of  Government  never  for  an 
instant  will  stop.  It  were  well  if  we  could  all  keep  in  mind 
that  life  is  but  death's  prelude,  simply  execution's  stay. 

I  desire  to  record  this  estimate  of-  our  deceased  friend.  He 
was  kind-hearted  and  generous.  He  despised  not  one  of  God's 
creatures.  He  could  not  cherish  malice.  He  was  tender  in 
his  home.  It  was  not  characteristic  of  him  to  speak  evil  of 
any  man.  He  ardently  loved  his  State.  He  was  an  American, 
willing  to  risk  his  life  for  his  country.  He  was  honest  in  his 
convictions.  As  a  lawyer  he  was  faithful  to  his  clients; 
as  solicitor  in  the  courts  he  was  faithful  to  his  State;  as  a 
Representative  in  Congress  he  was  faithful  to  the  interest  of 
the  Republic  as  God  gave  him  light  to  see. 


1 6  Life  and  Character  of  James  M.  Moody. 

And  he  believed  in  God.  In  the  thunder  he  heard  His  voice, 
in  the  sunshine  he  saw  His  smile,  and  in  the  growing  crops  he 
perceived  His  all-pervading  goodness  and  mercy. 

As  the  spirit  of  this  generous,  patriotic  man  was  passing  out, 
as  the  beautiful  mountains  around  his  home  were  fading  in 
life's  twilight,  as  the  merry  laughter  of  rippling  Richland  was 
dying  in  his  ears,  let  us  hope  it  was  mercifully  granted  to  him 
to  see  the  white  spires  of  the  Celestial  City  and  hear  the  music 
of  the  eternal  morn. 


Address  of  Mr.  Gibson,  of  Tennessee.  17 


Address  of  Mr.  Gibson,  of  Tennessee. 

Mr.  SPEAKER:  It  was  said  by  Mark  Antony  in  the  Roman 
forum,  with  the  dead  body  of  the  greatest  of  all  Romans  before 
him — 

I  come  to  bury  Ciesar,  not  to  praise  him. 

We  come  here  to-day  not  to  bury  onr  late  colleague  and 
associate,  James  Montrayille  Moody,  but  to  praise  him. 
He  was  a  man  who  deserYed  praise.  Born  and  reared  in  the 
mountains  of  North  Carolina,  he  was  emphatically  a  mountain 
man,  possessing  all  of  the  characteristics  of  the  best  specimens 
of  typical  mountaineers.  I  know  these  mountaineers.  I  haYe 
lived  among  them.  Whenever  I  strike  a  mountaineer,  I  have 
a  certain  measure  of  respect  for  him,  for  he  has  come  from  the 
hands  of  God,  without  the  additions  which  art  or  fashion  puts 
upon  the  most  of  men.  He  is  emphatically  a  God-made  man. 
The  mountain  men,  not  only  of  North  Carolina,  but  of  every 
section  of  our  country,  and  especially  the  mountain  men  from 
the  regions  east  of  the  Mississippi,  have  been  noted  during  the 
whole  of  our  history  for  the  possession  of  many  of  the  grandest 
characteristics  that  adorn  eminence  in  manhood,  citizenship, 
and  patriotism. 

The  mountain  men  of  North  Carolina,  like  those  of  Tennes- 
see, are  Nature's  own  children.  You  need  not  go  among  them 
to  find  leaders  of  fashion  or  gay  followers  of  frivolity.  They 
do  not  belong  to  the  class  who — 

Caper  nimbly  in  a  lady's  chamber 
To  the  lascivious  pleasing  of  a  lute. 

But  as  friends  none  are  more  true,  as  citizens  none  are  more 
patriotic,   as  Christians  none  are  more  devout. 
H.  Doc.  466 2 


iS  Life  and  Character  of  James  M.  Moody. 

When  the  shadow  of  war  darkens  over  the  land,  when  the 
drum  beats  and  the  bugle  blows,  when  the  flag  is  run  up  in  the 
sky,  and  the  President  calls  on  the  brave  and  the  patriotic 
to  rally  to  the  defense  of  our  country,  nowhere  between  the 
Atlantic  and  the  Pacific,  nowhere  between  the  Lakes  and  the 
Gidf,  do  you  find  more  men  to  rally  or  men  to  rally  more 
quickly  under  the  banner  of  their  country  than  the  stalwart 
sons  of  these  mountains,   and  none  braver  or  stronger. 

In  the  dark  days  of  the  American  Revolution,  when  the 
cause  of  old  England  seemed  in  the  ascendency,  when  the 
hearts  of  Washington  and  his  compeers  had  begun  to  weaken, 
and  the  bright-winged  dove  of  hope  seemed  about  to  fly  away 
and  the  black- winged  vulture  of  despair  to  take  its  place;  when 
Georgia  had  been  subjugated  and  Cornwallis  had  overrun 
South  Carolina  and  North  Carolina  and  was  moving  toward 
Virginia,  and  all  the  cities  upon  the  Northern  coast  were  in 
the  possession  of  British  soldiers  or  sailors,  then  it  was  that  the 
men  of  the  mountains  in  which  James  Montraviele  Moody 
was  born  and  raised,  under  the  leadership  of  John  Sevier,  after- 
wards the  first  governor  of  Tennessee,  and  Isaac  Shelby,  after- 
wards the  first  governor  of  Kentucky,  and  their  immortal 
compatriots,  without  an}-  orders  from  the  General  Govern- 
ment, without  any  of  them  wearing  a  uniform,  without  any 
of  them  armed  with  a  weapon  except  those  purchased  with 
their  own  money,  and  mounted  on  their  own  horses,  descend- 
ing from  those  mountains  of  North  Carolina  like  an  avalanche 
of  valor  and  patriotism,  on  that  fatefid  day  in  October,  1780, 
fell  upon  the  British  troops  under  Ferguson,  at  Kings  Moun- 
tain, and  delivered  a  blow  whose  echoes  were  heard  throughout 
the  length  and  breadth  of  the  infant  Republic,  encouraging  the 
hearts  of  patriots  everywhere,  and  whose  reverberations  crossed 


Address  of  Mr.  Gibson,  of  Tennessee.  19 

the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  warned  King  George  that  the  tide  of 
battle  had  at  last  turned  against  him  in  this   New  World. 

When,  in  the  next  war  with  England,  after  our  armies  had 
been  defeated  in  almost  every  battle  on  American  soil,  after 
Hull  had  surrendered  at  Detroit,  after  this  city  had  been  cap- 
tured, the  Capitol  burned,  the  defenses  of  Baltimore  bombarded, 
our  seacoasts  ravaged  by  English  soldiers  and  English  ships, 
when,  in  January,  1815,  the  victorious  hosts  of  England  were 
about  to  capture  New  Orleans,  and  in  capturing  New  Orleans 
capture  Louisiana  and  the  Mississippi  River  and  all  that  great 
Western  country  out  of  which  so  main-  grand  States  have  since 
been  carved,  then  it  was  that  the  mountain  men  of  North  Caro- 
lina, Tennessee,  and  Kentucky  confronted  the  British  forces  on 
the  plain  of  Chalmette,  confronted  the  veteran  soldiers  who  had 
defeated  the  armies  of  Napoleon  in  old  Europe — -then  it  was 
that  these  mountain  riflemen,  with  Andrew  Jackson  at  their 
head,  hurled  back  the  armies  of  Pakenham  and  Gibbs,  and  won 
that  victor)'  which  has  made  the  name  of  Jackson  and  the  battle 
of  New  Orleans  immortal  in  the  history  of  our  country  and  in 
the  annals  of  the  world. 

Mr.  Moody  himself  had  no  opportunity  to  distinguish  himself 
in  war,  but  when  the  conflict  with  Spain  arose  he  at  once  offered 
his  services  to  his  country,  and  became  an  officer  in  our  Army. 
He  did  all  any  brave  man  and  patriot  could  do  to  show  his 
devotion  to  his  country;  and  if  the  necessities  of  the  war  had 
called  him  to  the  field  of  battle  he  no  doubt  would  have  proved 
himself  a  worthy  son  of  our  mountain  land. 

Mr.  Moody  lived  at  Waynesville,  in  "the  land  of  the  sky," 
a  beautiful  little  mountain  city  2,600  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea,  and  surrounded  by  mountains  6,000  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea — more  than  a  mile  high.     Look  which  way  you  will 


20  Life  and  Character  of  James  M.  Moody. 

from  Mr.  Moody's  home  and  a  most  magnificent  panorama  of 
mountains  stands  before  you,  some  of  the  peaks  towering  sub- 
limely far  into  the  heavens.  Notably  among  these  peaks  is 
Junaleska,  glorious  in  its  majesty  and  sublime  in  its  proportions. 
While  we  were  attending  the  funeral  the  clouds  and  mists  envel- 
oped all  of  the  valleys  and  lower  mountains.  The  great  breast 
of  Junaleska  was  enveloped  as  in  a  mighty  garment,  but 
through  the  rifts  of  the  mists  could  be  seen  the  sunlight  on  its 
summit  glittering  like  a  crown  of  glory  in  the  upper  sky, 
recalling  vividly  the  familiar  lines — 

As  some  tall  cliff  that  lifts  its  awful  form, 
Swells  from  the  vale,  and  midway  leaves  the  storm; 
Though  round  its  breast  the  rolling  clouds  are  spread, 
Eternal  sunshine  settles  on  its  head. 

Such  were  the  surroundings  of  Mr.  Moody's  home.  None 
could  be  lovelier,  none  more  inspiring;  and  as  were  the  moun- 
tains, so  was  he — massive  in  his  person,  a  huge  body,  a  great 
head,  stalwart  arms,  legs  of  oak,  and  a  heart  big,  brave,  and 
bountiful.  No  better  specimen  of  our  mountain  men  ever  sat 
on  this  floor.  Some  may  have  thought  him  rather  rough  in  his 
exterior,  but,  Mr.  Speaker — 

Within  the  oyster's  shell  uncouth 

The  purest  pearl  may  bide; 
Trust  me,  you'll  find  a  heart  of  truth 

Within  that  rough  outside. 

Such  was  James  Montraville  Moody.  As  a  mountain 
man  I  had  a  fellow-feeling  for  him,  as  a  patriot  I  honored  him, 
as  a  friend  I  loved  him.  In  the  very  prime  of  life,  but  a  few 
days  ago  in  the  very  glory  of  healthful  manhood,  apparently 
armed  against  disease  from  head  to  foot,  with  apparently  thirty 
years  of  active,  useful,  honorable  life  ahead  of  him,  and  behold, 
all  on  a  sudden,  we  saw  the  flag  above  this  Hall  at  half-mast. 
Many  of  us,  knowing  nothing  of  his  sickness,  and,  if  knowing 


Address  of  Mr.  Gibson,  of  Tennessee.  21 

anything,  not  in  the  least  suspecting-  a  fatal  issue,  inquired 
"  Who  is  dead?"  The  answer  came,  "JAMES  MontravillE 
Moody.  ' ' 

He  was  dead,  and  his  death  warns  us  that  death  is  no 
respecter  of  persons,  that  the  stoutest,  the  bravest,  the  boldest, 
the  youngest  are  as  apt  to  be  reached  by  the  fatal  shaft  of  the 
impartial  archer  as  is  the  old  man,  tottering  on  his  last  legs, 
feebly  walking,  bent  and  bowed,  with  the  aid  of  a  cane. 

Let  us  draw  a  lesson  from  this,  Mr.  Speaker,  to  so  conduct 
our  lives  that  when  the  end  comes  to  us — as  come  it  must,  and 
come  it  will,  and  how  soon  we  know  not,  for  no  man  knoweth 
whose  name  is  written  upon  the  arrow  which  the  archer 
Death  will  next  draw  from  his  quiver — let  us  so  live  that 
when  the  end  comes  to  us  we  may  fold  our  arms  in  hopeful 
resignation,  trusting  that  when  we  close  our  eyes  for  the  last 
time  we  close  them  to  this  world  of  trouble  and  of  sorrow  only 
to  open  them  in  that  other  world  of  peace  and  joy,  in  that 
other  "land  of  the  sky,"  where  they  will  never  be  closed 
again,  and  that  there,  ready  to  greet  us,  in  that  blessed  country 
of  immortality  we  will  behold,  transfigured  and  all  glorious, 
the  person  of  our  friend  and  colleague,  James  Montraville 
Moody. 


22  Life  and  Character  of  James  M.  Moody 


Address  of  Mr,  Thomas,  of  North  Carolina. 

Mr.  SPEAKER  :  When  a  few  weeks  ago  the  wires  flashed  to 
his  colleagues  in  Congress  the  sad  news  of  the  sudden  death 
of  JAMES  M.  Moody  the  first  impression,  mingled  with  regret, 
made  upon  my  mind  was  that  the  pitiless  destroyer  of  man- 
kind had  stricken  down  in  the  prime  of  life  one  who  was 
apparently  the  most  robust  of  all  the  members  of  the  North 
Carolina  delegation.  Possessing  a  powerful  physical  frame 
and  a  strong  constitution,  it  seemed  to  those  who  knew  him 
well  that  many  years  of  active  life  were  before  him.  But 
men,  as  well  as  States  and  nations,  must  bow  to  the  divine 
decree,  and  while  we  are  divinely  told  that  the  allotted  period 
of  man's  life  is  three  score  and  ten  years,  it  is  the  universal 
human  experience  that  death  has  no  time  and  no  season. 

Leaves  have  their  time  to  fall, 
And  flowers  to  wither  at  the  north-wind's  breath. 

And  stars  to  set;  but  all, 
Thou  hast  all  seasons  for  thine  own,  O  Death  ! 

Horace,  the  Latin  poet,  voices  another  experience  of  hu- 
manity when  he  says  : 

"  Pallida  mors  aequo  pulsat  pede  pauperum  tabernas  regumque  tunes  " — 
Pale  death  with  impartial  foot  knocks  at  the  cottages  of  the  poor  and  the 
palaces  of  kings.     "  Vitse  summa  brevis  spem  nos  vetat  inchoare longam  " — ■ 

The  short  span  of  life  forbids  us  to  form  remote  expectations, 

JAMES  MONTRAVIXLE  Moody,  Republican,  of  Waynesville, 
was  born  on  a  farm  in  Cherokee  (now  Graham)  County, 
N.  C,  February  12,  [858.  While  an  infant  his  parents 
moved  to  Haywood  County,  where  he  lived  and  died.  As  a 
bov  he  worked  on  the  farm  during  the  summer  months  and 
attended  the  neighborhood  schools  in  the  winter.  At  the  age 
of   17  he  entered  Waynesville  Academy,   remaining  two  years, 


Address  of  Mr.   Thomas^  of  North  Carolina.  23 

and  then  attended  Candler  College,  in  Buncombe  County, 
N.  C,  For  one  year;  studied  law  under  a  private  instructor 
at  Waynesville,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  January,  [881. 
In  [886  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  twelfth  judi- 
cial district  of  North  Carolina,  and  served  in  that  capacity 
for  four  years.  In  1894  was  elected  to  the  State  senate  for 
two  years.  He  served  through  the  Spanish- American  war  as 
major  and  chief  commissary  of  United  States  Volunteers  on 
the  staff  of  Maj.  Gen.  J.  Warren  Keifer,  who  commanded 
the  First  Division  of  the  Seventh  Army  Corps.  He  was 
elected  to  the  Fifty-seventh  Congress,  receiving  19,334  votes, 
to   17,250  for  W.   T.   Crawford,  Democrat. 

This  brief  biographical  sketch  from  the  Congressional  Direct- 
ory discloses  the  sterling  qualities  of  this  man  to  whom  to-day 
we  pay  a  last  and  an  accustomed,  but  heartfelt  and  sincere 
tribute  of  respect.  Lawyer,  State  senator,  solicitor  or  prose- 
cuting attorney,  major  in  the  Spanish-American  war,  and 
Congressman — in  the  brief  period  of  forty-five  years  few  men 
have  achieved  such  varied  distinction.  Every  position  which 
he  won  was  by  dint  of  hard  and  earnest  work,  and  was  the 
result  of  physical  and  mental  toil  and  effort.  His  success  in 
life  was  achieved  in  his  own  home,  among  the  mountains  of 
North  Carolina,  which  he  loved  so  well.  If  nothing  was  to 
stay  the  cold  hand  of  death,  it  was  meet  and  appropriate  that 
he  should  die  within  sight  of  those  grand  peaks  of  the  Blue 
Ridge,  piercing  the  clouds  and  skies  of  the  "Switzerland 
of  America" — western  North  Carolina — which  have  given 
inspiration  and  cheer  and  courage  to  so  many  of  the  most 
distinguished  of  North  Carolina's  many  distinguished  sons; 
men  like  Vance,  Merrimon,  Clingman,  and  many  others  who 
have  been  loved  and  honored  by  North  Carolinians. 

Just  a  week  before  the  departure  of  Mr.  Moody  for  his  home 


24  Life  and  Character  of  James  M.  Moody. 

in  Waynesville,  when  he  was  feeling  depressed  and  ill,  and 
with  evidently  some  premonition  of  his  approaching  end,  he 
said  to  a  newspaper  correspondent,  "  If  I  am  going  to  die,  I 
want  to  die  where  I  have  lived,  among  the  mountains,  God's 
country."  To  him  it  was  indeed  God's  country,  and  the  pure 
clear  air  of  the  mountains  was  to  him  the  very  breath  of  life. 

In  all  of  us  dwells  the  abiding  sense  of  our  local  attachments, 
and  we  long  in  our  last  moments  to  look  upon  those  scenes 
connected  with  the  earliest  and  the  most  beloved  memories  and 
associations  of  our  lives.  When  one  of  the  Presidents  of  this 
great  Republic,  James  A.  Garfield,  was  stricken  down  by  the 
assassin's  bullet,  Mr.  Blaine  tells  us  in  his  magnificent  oration 
that  his  early  craving  for  the  sea  returned  and  he  was  borne, 
accompanied  by  the  hopes  and  prayers  of  the  nation,  to  the 
"longed-for  healing  of  the  sea,  there  to  live  or  die,  as  God 
should  will,  within  sight  of  its  heaving  billows,  within  sound 
of  its  manifold  voices. ' ' 

And  so  James  M.  Moodv  craved  once  again  for  the  healing 
of  the  mountains,  the  balsamic  odors,  the  rugged  and  lofty 
peaks,  the  clear,  blue  sky,  and  the  marvelous  changing  and 
shifting  clouds  and  scenes  of  the   "Land  of  the  Sky." 

His  life  was  spent  among  the  people  of  this  land  from  his 
early  boyhood,  and  they  loved,  trusted,  and  honored  him.  He 
was  faithful  and  true  to  them  and  failed  not  to  respond  to 
every  call  and  demand  of  his  State  or  country  in  peace  or  in 
war.  Honest,  laborious,  rugged  in  character  and  physique 
as  his  native  and  beloved  mountains,  let  us  hope  that  in  his 
last  moments  he  drew  inspiration,  comfort,  courage,  and  peace 
from  them,  and  was  enabled  to  look  up  and  beyond  the  mists 
and  shadows  which  surround  their  lofty  peaks  and  with  the 
eye  of  faith  to  catch  some  glimpses  of  the  eternal  world  and 
feel  from  the  mountain  tops  the  breath  of  the  eternal  morning. 


Address  of  Mr.   T/iomas,  of  North   Carolina,  25 

Mr.  Speaker,  this  sudden  death  of  our  colleague,  following 
so  many  other  deaths  in  this  Congress,  and,  in  my  brief  service 
of  two  terms  in  Congress,  following  the  death  of  many  eminent 
public  men,  including  both  a  President  and  A'ice- President 
of  the  Republic,  emphasizes  that  our  human  life  hangs  by  a 
thread;  the  sword  of  Damocles,  as  we  sit  at  the  feast,  is 
suspended   over   us. 

"All  men  think  all  other  men  mortal  but  themselves;"  and 
the  idea  of  following  in  the  footsteps  of  our  departed  colleagues 
in  and  through  the  dark  Valley  of  the  Shadow  is  far  from  the 
thoughts  of  any  of  us;  yet  we  know  neither  the  day  nor  the 
hour  decreed  for  our  departure.  Whether  it  be  near  or  far, 
however,  the  discharge  of  our  duty  to  the  district  and  the  State 
we  represent  and  to  our  country  is  the  greatest  of  all  earthly 
consolations  when  that  inevitable  hour  comes. 

We  are  told   by  the  historian: 

"Over  a  hundred  years  ago,  on  May  19,  1780,  in  New  Eng- 
land there  was  a  day  of  remarkable  gloom  and  darkness,  still 
known  as  'the  dark  day,'  a  day  in  which  the  light  of  the  sun 
was  extinguished  as  if  by  an  eclipse.  The  legislature  of  Con- 
necticut was  in  session;  and  as  its  members  saw  the  unexpected 
darkness  coming  on,  they  shared  in  the  general  awe  and  terror. 
It  was  supposed  by  many  that  the  last  day,  the  Day  of  Judg- 
ment, had  come.  Some  one,  in  the  consternation  of  the  hour, 
moved  an  adjournment.  Then  there  arose  an  old  Puritan  legis- 
lator, Davenport,  of  Stamford,  and  said  that  if  the  last  day  had 
come,  he  desired  to  be  found  at  his  place  doing  his  duty,  and 
therefore  moved  that  candles  be  brought  in,  so  that  the  house 
could  proceed  with  the  legislative  business." 

And  so,  as  has  been  well  said  by  that  great  captain  and  leader 
of  the  Southern  armies,  Robert  E.  Dee,  duty  is  the  sublimest 
word    in    the   English   language;    and   however  near   the   final 


26  Life  and  Character  of  James  M.  Moody, 

summons  may  be  to  any  one  of  us,  the  example  of  this  old 
Puritan  is  worthy  of  imitation  and  commendation.  And  the 
discharge  of  our  duty  will  be  to  us  the  most  comforting  thought 
in  our  last  hour  on  earth. 

So  live,  that  when  thy  summons  comes  to  join 
The  innumerable  caravan  which  moves 
To  that  mysterious  realm  where  each  shall  take 
His  chamber  in  the  silent  halls  of  death, 
Thou  go  not,  like  the  quarry -slave  at  night, 
Scourged  to  his  dungeon,  but  sustained  and  soothed 
Bv  an  unfaltering  trust,  approach  thy  grave 
L,ike  one  that  wraps  the  drapery  of  his  couch 
About  him,  and  lies  down  to  pleasant  dreams. 


Address  of  Mr,  Small,  of  North   Carolina.  27 


Address  of  Mr.  Small,  of  North  Carolina. 

Mr.  Speaker:  The  Great  Being  has  decreed  that  death  must 
come  to  all.  When  youth,  with  its  rosy  coloring  and  bright 
anticipations,  ripens  into  maturity,  it  is  the  most  conspicuous 
event  which  the  future  casts  athwart  the  horizon.  As  the 
members  of  one's  family  and  one's  friends  and  acquaintances 
take  their  departure  into  the  mysterious  future  we  are  con- 
stantly reminded  that  we,  too,  may  be  the  next  to  cross  the 
dark  river.  It  is  well,  perhaps,  that  these  reflections  should 
bid  us  pause  from  time  to  time  in  the  busy  march  of  life  and 
ask  when  each  of  us  may  fall  from  the  ranks  and  join  the 
innumerable  company  which  have  gone  before. 

Familiarity  with  death  and  the  consciousness  of  our  lot  does 
not,  however,  detract  from  the  solemnity  of  each  occasion  when 
we  are  called  upon  to  mourn  the  loss  of  one  with  whom  we 
have  been  associated  in  life.  Whether  we  look  upon  it  with 
shuddering  horror,  or  whether  faith  has  clothed  the  life  to 
come  with  brightness  and  happiness,  or  whether  the  suffering 
and  unhappiness  of  this  world  look  with  welcome  upon  the 
transition,  it  is  still  all  mysterious  and  unfathomable  by  the 
exercise  of  any  of  the  faculties  with  which  we  are  endowed. 
Let  those  who  have  faith  in  immortality  and  in  a  brighter  and 
better  life  nurture  their  faith  and  their  anticipations,  because 
they  are  thereby  made  happier  in  this  world  and  have  assur- 
ances of  that  which  is  to  come. 

It  was  not  my  good  fortune  to  know  intimately  Mr.  Moody. 
While  we  both  lived  in  the  same  State,  yet  we  were  separated 
several  hundred  miles.      His  home  was  in  the  mountains,  under 


28  Life  and  Character  of  James  M.  Moody. 

the  shadow,  almost,  of  Mount  Mitchell,  while  my  home  was  far 
even  beyond  the  foothills,  in  the  level  tide- water  plateau,  near 
old  ocean. 

I  dislike  a  fulsome  eulogy  to  the  dead.  There  exist  in 
every  man,  particularly  those  who  have  followed  the  bent  of 
ambition  and  achieved  distinction,  characteristics  and  impulses 
which  single  him  out  apart  from  his  fellows.  There  are  none 
of  us  without  faults. 

I  was  one  of  the  members  of  this  House  who  accompanied 
the  committee  on  its  sad  mission  to  Wayuesville  to  participate 
in  the  last  honors  to  all  that  was  mortal  of  our  late  friend  and 
colleague.  On  the  day  when  we  laid  his  body  away  in  the 
beautiful  cemetery  the  elements  contributed  to  add  their  share 
of  gloom  to  the  occasion.  In  his  home  town,  nestling  in  a 
beautiful  valley,  and  surrounded  by  grand  and  lofty  moun- 
tains, which  seem  to  wall  it  in  from  the  outer  world,  the 
mist  and  the  rain  shrouded  the  mountain  tops  and  swept  over 
into  the  vale  below.  However,  this  did  not  deter  the  friends 
and  acquaintances  of  the  dead  from  gathering  once  more  to 
gaze  upon  their  comrade  and  honored  citizen  and  to  follow 
the  cortege  to  his  last  resting  place.  Not  only  from  the  town, 
but  from  the  surrounding  country,  they  came,  on  horseback 
and  in  vehicles,  along  heavy  mountain  roads  and  through 
the  pelting  rain.  I  talked  with  some  of  them  about  the  dead 
man,  and  there  were  two  characteristics  upon  which  all  were 
in  harmony  and  upon  which  they  loved  to  dwell.  One  was 
his  kindly,  impulsive,  generous  heart,  particularly  toward  the 
helpless  and  the  weak,  and  the  other  was  his  love  of  those 
whom  we  call  the  people. 

I  have  an  intense  admiration  for  a  man  of  kindly,  humane 
impulses  and  sympathetic  heart;  the  man  who  carries  with  him 
sunshine,   who  can   weep  witli   those   who   are   in    sorrow    and 


Address  of  Mr.  Small,  of  North   Carolina.  29 

laugh  with  those  who  are  in  gladness;  who  speaks  a  kind  and 
cheerful  word  to  those  who  are  despondent  and  unhappy  and 
who  extends  the  glad  hand  of  encouragement  to  those  who  are 
faint-hearted;  for  the  man  who  is  willing  to  divide  with  the 
poor  and  who  is  ever  ready  to  listen  to  the  appeals  of  the  less 
fortunate.  The  greatest  of  all  virtues  is  charity — charity  of 
purpose,  charity  of  opinion,  the  charity  which  overlooks  frail- 
ties and  the  faults  of  others.  It  was  said  that  very  few 
appealed  to  him  in  vain,  and  that  there  were  men  and  women 
among  those  sturdy  mountaineers  who  had  been  lifted  up  and 
encouraged  and  induced  to  turn  their  faces  again  to  the  light 
under  the  inspiration  of  his  kindly  nature. 

Mr.  Moody  had  been  reared  among  the  people  of  the  moun- 
tains. He  had  been  in  their  homes;  he  was  familiar  with  their 
habits,  their  trials,  their  hopes  and  aspirations.  They  had 
known  him  in  youth  and  they  had  watched  with  pride  his 
steady  progress  to  manhood.  Promotion  and  advancement  did 
not  cause  him  to  forget  his  old  friends  and  acquaintances. 
While  ambitious,  he  was  not  proud.  As  he  entered  the  world, 
far  removed  from  his  old  environments,  surrounded  by  new 
faces  and  friends,  his  heart  ever  turned  toward  the  mountains, 
and  he  was  always  glad  of  the  opportunity  to  mingle  again 
with  his  people  and  to  stand  upon  his  native  heath.  When  he 
left  this  beautiful  city  and  gazed  for  the  last  time  upon  its 
stately  Capitol,  he  realized  that  he  might  not  return  again,  and 
expressed  the  wish,  if  he  must  die,  that  he  be  permitted  to  take 
a  last  farewell  in  sight  of  his  mountains  and  surrounded  by 
his  own  people. 

Charity  and  love  of  the  people!  These  two  traits  alone  are 
enough  to  distinguish  him  and  to  preserve  his  memory.  The 
good  minister  who  officiated  in  the  solemn  funeral  services 
in  the  church  referred  to  the  beautiful  floral  offerings  which 


30  Life  and  Character  of  James  M.  Moody. 

were  piled  in  profusion  around  the  bier  and  expressed  the  hope 
that  the  memory  of  Mr.  Moody  might  continue  longer  than 
the  fragrance  and  life  of  those  beautiful  flowers.  That  hope 
will  be  realized.  Not  so  much  by  the  stately  granite  of  the 
monument  which  shall  be  reared  over  his  grave,  but  in  the 
memory  of  the  good  men  and  women  who  knew  his  virtues 
in  life  and  who  will  preserve  them  for  all  time  to  come  as 
a  sweet  and  precious  heritage. 


Address  of  Mr.  Kit  chin,  of  North  Carolina.  31 


Address  of  Mr.  W.  W.  Kitchin,  of  North  Carolina. 

Mr.  Speaker:  Under  the  order  of  the  House  I  desire  to 
record  a  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  departed  friend  whom 
eternity's  dreaded  deputy  has  so  lately  summoned  from  our 
midst.  Mr.  Moody  was  a  lawyer  by  profession,  as  are  all  the 
other  North  Carolina  Representatives.  He  was  an  earnest, 
strong  advocate,  easily  comprehending  the  important  facts  and 
presenting  them  with  great  clearness  and  power.  He  soon 
became  recognized  as  a  splendid  jury  lawyer.  At  the  age  of 
28  he  was  elected  solicitor,  or  prosecuting  attorney,  as  the  office 
is  called  in  some  States,  of  what  was  then  the  twelfth  judicial 
district  of  North  Carolina,  and  served  as  such  for  four  years. 
There  is,  in  my  judgment,  no  position  in  the  gift  of  the  people 
better  than  a  solicitorship  for  the  development  of  a  lawyer's 
mind  and  heart,  for  the  growth  of  his  love  of  justice  and 
humanity,  for  quickening  his  understanding  and  improving 
his  presentation  of  views.  This  opportunity  was  taken  by  our 
friend,  and  his  performance  of  its  duties  was  the  basis  of  his 
subsequent  honors. 

In  politics  he  was  a  staunch,  uncompromising  Republican 
and  believed  in  the  doctrines  and  policies  of  his  party.  In 
the  most  hotly  contested  campaigns  known  to  our  State  in 
this  generation,  even  in  those  in  which  his  party  suffered 
defeat,  his  rugged  honesty,  his  never  failing  103-alty,  his 
undaunted  personal  courage  were  sources  of  strength  to  his 
party  throughout  the  mountain  section  of  the  State.  Not- 
withstanding his  party  zeal  he  had  the  respect  and  friendship 
of   political    opponents  in  a  very  large   degree,  perhaps  more 


32  Life  and  Character  of  James  M.  Moody. 

so  than  any  other  person  in  the  State  of  equal  activity  and 
prominence  in  politics. 

As  a  member  of  this  body  he  was  diligent,  and  to  every 
demand  made  upon  him  by  his  constituents  he  was  attentive — 
a  faithful  servant  of  his  people.  Probably  the  most  important 
work  he  did  was  in  behalf  of  the  Appalachian  Park.  He 
knew  the  country  proposed  to  be  embraced  in  it  and  under- 
stood the  entire  matter  as  few  members  do,  and  to  him  was 
intrusted  the  duty  of  preparing  the  report  in  its  favor.  It 
was  near  and  dear  to  his  heart,  and  I  doubt  not  that  one  of 
the  disappointments  of  his  public  career  came  to  him  when  he 
found  that  the  Appalachian  Park  bill  would  not  be  permitted 
to  have  consideration  during  this  Congress.  The  work  he 
did  has  not  been  lost,  and  we  trust  the  day  is  not  far  distant 
when  success  will  crown  the  efforts  in  behalf  of  that  great 
national  forest  reserve  which  he  and  others  began  in  this 
Congress. 

Mr.  Moody  and  myself  lived  at  the  same  hotel,  and  I 
learned  to  know  him  well.  I  remember  distinctly  the  last 
time  I  saw  him.  It  was  in  the  lobby  of  our  hotel  the  day 
before  he  went  home  to  prematurely  lay  down  life's  burden, 
and  was  probably  the  first  time  he  had  been  out  of  his  room 
in  several  weeks.  The  fatal  malady  had  announced  its  pres- 
ence, and  yet  he  was  deeply  interested  in  matters  pertaining 
to  his  people.  For  him  I  had  that  clay  succeeded  in  having 
an  item  put  in  the  Indian  appropriation  bill  for  the  relief  of 
some  of  his  constituents,  for  whom  he  had  introduced  a  bill. 
He  was  highly  gratified,  and  expressed  great  pleasure  over 
it,  as  it  meant  so  much  to  his  constituents. 

I  had  heard  that  his  physician  had  fears  for  his  recovery, 
and  as  I  looked  upon  his  massive  frame  I  wondered  that  such 
fears  could  be  serious,  and   hoped   that   his  going  home  to  his 


Address  of  Mr.  Kitchin^  of  North  Carolina.  33 

beautiful  mountain  country  would  be  followed  by  a  speedy 
return  to  his  accustomed  health.  A  few  days  thereafter,  on 
February  5,  a  telegram  brought  the  sad  news  that  James 
Moxtrayiu.E  Moody  was  no  more.  It  was  not  my  fortune 
to  accompany  the  funeral  party  from  this  city,  the  scene  of 
his  last  activities,  to  Waynesville,  where  he  died,  but  my 
sympathies  went  to  that  sorrowing  town  and  to  his  loved  ones 
bereaved.  His  wife  and  children  have  the  consolation  that 
integrity,  courage,  ability,  and  honor  leave,  but  above  all  else 
they  have  the  hope  that  he  awaits  them  in  ' '  an  house  not 
made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens."  Our  friend  had 
considered  that  all-important  question:  "  What  shall  it  profit  a 
man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul?"  and 
had  made  the  preparation  of  wisdom  by  accepting  the  doctrines 
of  Jesus  Christ  and  dedicating  himself  to  His  service.  When 
the  silver  cord  is  loosed  and  the  golden  bowl  is  broken  the 
belief  that  our  loved  one's  spirit  lives  forever  where  there  is  no 
sin  is  the  greatest  solace  good  men  and  women  can  have. 

When  this  Congress  began,  one  scanning  its  membership 
would  never  have  selected  our  friend  as  destined  to  early  death. 
He  was  a  man  of  large  proportions,  about  6  feet  tall,  and 
weighed  perhaps  225  pounds;  broad-shouldered,  a  giant  in 
physical  strength.  He  seemed  in  the  prime  of  vigorous 
manhood.  We  are  reminded  that  with  each  day  the  never- 
erring  archer  comes  nearer  to  us,  and  one  by  one  his  shafts 
shall  take  our  lives.  The  sands  in  the  hourglass  run  swiftly 
and  the  old  must  die,  but  the  archer  reserves  not  his  arrows 
for  them  alone.  The  fall  of  friend  after  friend  in  age  and  in 
youth,  in  weakness  and  in  strength,  speaks  to  us  as  of  old, 
' '  Be  ye  also  ready. ' '  Death  respects  not  youth  or  strength  or 
anything  of  which  mankind  boasts.  Decay  claims  all  things 
H.  Doc.  466 3 


34  Life  and  Character  of  James  M.  Moody. 

material.  There  is  a  limit  for  all  that  can  be  felt  or  seen;  but 
to  the  immaterial  there  is  no  decay,  no  limit,  no  death.  The 
spiritual  lives  forever  free  from  the  germs  of  disease,  exempt 
from  Time's  corrosion.  Death  itself  in  the  presence  of  the 
spiritual  is  powerless.  "Death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory. 
O  death,  where  is  thy  sting?  O  grave,  where  is  thy  victory? 
The  sting  of  death  is  sin;  and  the  strength  of  sin  is  the  law. 
But  thanks  be  to  God,  which  giveth  us  the  victory  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 


Address  of  Mr.  Lamb,  of  Virginia,  35 


Address  of  Mr,  Lamb,  of  Virginia. 

Mr.  Speaker:  Hon.  James  M.  Moody  was  a  useful  mem- 
ber of  the  Committee  on  Agriculture.  I  knew  him  well  and 
watched  his  course  on  that  committee.  He  was  an  attentive 
listener  to  all  the  hearings.  He  seldom  addressed  the  com- 
mittee, but  when  he  did  he  expressed  himself  with  force  and 
earnestness.  His  appeal  for  consideration  of  the  bill  establish- 
ing the  "  National  Appalachian  Forest  Reserve  "  was  impressive 
and  convincing,  while  the  report  he  made  on  that  measure  to 
this  House  was  clear  and  strong,  showing  the  great  necessity 
for  the  work  and  the  immense  advantages  to  follow  its 
establishment. 

I  attended  the  funeral  of  Major  Moody,  and  witnessed  the 
last  sad  rites  over  the  remains  of  our  colleague.  The  scene 
was  impressive,  and  gave  a  remarkable  evidence  of  the  esteem 
and  affection  in  which  he  was  held  by  the  community  where  he 
wTas  born  and  reared.  A  stream  of  people  from  the  town  of 
Waynesville  and  the  surrounding  country  passed  in  and  out  of 
the  home  of  the  dead  Congressman  to  take  a  last  look  at  their 
friend  and  Representative.  Rain  had  been  falling  continuously 
for  several  hours.  This  did  not  deter  the  hardy  yeomanry  of 
the  counties  from  attending  the  funeral  of  their  friend.  They 
stood  in  long  lines  with  saddened  countenances — the  sons  of 
men  whom  I  have  watched  in  battle  so  often,  and  seen  their 
prostrate  forms  cover  acres  of  mother  earth  after  the  clash  of 
arms  had  ceased  and  the  cannon's  roar  had  died  away. 

It  was  a  strange  circumstance,  that  just  as  the  hour  for  the 
funeral  services  arrived  the  clouds  lifted,  the  sun  came  out. 
Above  the  mists  of  the  clouds  shone  the  mountain  peaks.      It 


36  Life  and  Character  of  James  M.  Moody. 

was  a  glorious  panorama!  The  lowlander  feasted  his  eyes  and 
wished  he  was  an  artist  or  a  word  painter.  When  the  proces- 
sion was  over,  and  Mother  Earth  held  securely  another  of  her 
toilers,  the  rain  again  fell  steadily,  and  all  nature  appeared  in 
sympathy  with  the  surrounding  gloom  and  sorrow. 

I  watched  the  mourning  crowd  disperse.  I  noted  the  ex- 
Confederate  soldiers,  spoke  to  several  of  them,  and  heard 
one,  who  was  in  charge  of  an  order  of  knights  to  which  the 
deceased  belonged,  say,  "Close  up,  men."  I  had  heard  the 
expression  before — had  seen  North  Carolina's  sons  "close 
up ' '  on  many  a  hard-fought  field. 

We  know  the  earl}-  and  later  history  of  the  Old  North 
State.  She  gave  the  first  martyr  to  the  Revolution;  the 
first  to  the  glorious  struggle  for  the  rights  of  the  South, 
and  the  first  for  the  Cuban  independence. 

North  Carolina  has  furnished  to  the  country  many  mili- 
tary and  civic  heroes  who  will  occupy  a  high  niche  in  the 
temple  of  fame,  but  no  more  touching  tribute  to  the  rank 
and  file  of  her  brave  sous  can  be  made  than  the  recording 
in  her  archives  of  the  names  of  these  three  heroes. 

Their  deeds  will  be  mentioned  and  their  names  repeated 
by  the  coming  generations  of  the  Old  North  State  while  the 
restless  ocean  laves  her  eastern  shores  and  the  silent  moun- 
tains,  that  look  eternal,  guard  her  western  confines. 

Amidst  the  charms  and  inspirations  of  western  North 
Carolina  our  deceased  colleague  grew  up,  struggling  with 
difficulties  and  advancing  step  by  step  until  he  was  recog- 
nized as  one  of  her  most  useful  citizens  and  honored  by  her 
people  with  various  positions  of  trust  and  responsibility. 

I  can  best  portray  his  public  and  private  character  and 
contribute  my  share  in  preserving  a  record  of  his  life  by 
quoting  a  part  of  a  tribute  to    Major    Moody    found    in    one 


Address  of  Mr,  Lamb,  of  Virginia.  37 

of    the    papers    of    his    State    a    few    days    after    his    sad    and 
untimely  end: 

As  a  representative  of  the  bar  he  was  one  of  the  most  successful  of  the 
State.  He  was  especially  prominent  as  a  criminal  lawyer.  His  public 
service  gave  general  satisfaction  to  all  classes  of  people  regardless  of  faith 
or  part}-.  As  State  senator,  as  Congressman,  no  man  ever  labored  more 
enthusiastically  for  the  good  of  his  county;  he  seemed  to  have  every 
man's  interest  at  heart  and  he  labored  hard  that  he  might  do  the  best  for 
each  and  all.  He  was  devoted  to  his  work  and  no  social  occasion  ever 
persuaded  him  away  from  duty.  But  it  is  not  necessary  to  speak  at  length 
of  his  public  services.  Their  character  is  the  best  attestation  of  their 
worth  and  sincerity.  They  glow  upon  his  country's  history.  They  burn 
in  shimmering  glory  upon  his  country's  banner.  The}'  are  written  upon 
hearts  of  multitudes  with  a  stylus  of  fire. 

As  a  man  he  was  a  center  of  attraction,  a  favorite  among  all  classes  of 
people.  To  know  him  was  to  love  him;  his  great  heart  and  personal  mag- 
netism, his  manly  sympathy  and  noble  affability,  charmed  thousands  into 
his  friendship.  On  this  ground  many  men  of  the  opposite  political  faith 
forgot  their  own  party  and  voted  for  him. 

In  the  passing  away  of  so  many  members  of  the  Fifty- 
seventh  Congress  we  are  reminded  that — 

Death  rides  on  every  passing  breeze, 
He  lurks  in  every  flower. 

We  have  seen  the  youngest  and  the  strongest  fall  before  the 
"grim  monster." 

Who  will  be  the  next  victim? 

The  youth  in  life's  green  spring  and  he  who  goes 
In  the  full  strength  of  years,  matron  and  maid, 
The  speechless  babe,  and  the  gray-headed  man — 
Shall  one  by  one  be  gathered  to  thy  side, 
By  those,  who  in  their  turn  shall  follow  them. 


38  Life  and  Character  of  James  M.  Moody. 


Address  of  Mr.  Clark,  of  Missouri. 

Mr.  Speaker:  When  the  Fifty-seventh  Congress  convened, 
if  one  had  been  called  upon  to  select,  on  view,  the  two  mem- 
bers destined  for  greatest  length  of  days,  he  would  most  likely 
have  selected  R.  C.  De  Graffenreid,  of  Texas,  and  James  Mon- 
travillE  Moody,  of  North  Carolina.  In  a  month's  journey 
a  traveler  would  have  found  no  more  splendid  specimens  of 
American  manhood.  Robust,  in  the  morning  of  life,  hand- 
some, ambitious,  courageous,  and  patriotic,  they  have  been  cut 
off  untimely,  suddenly,  unexpectedly,  to  the  amazement  of 
their  fellows  and  the  sorrow  of  their  friends. 

Mr.  Moody  served  his  country  both  in  the  field  and  in  Con- 
gress. The  record  shows  that  he  was  a  faithful  soldier  and 
a  faithful  Representative.  He  possessed  in  a  large  degree 
the  popular  manner,  and  consequently  was  a  prime  favorite 
both  at  home  and  in  Washington. 

It  so  happened,  Mr.  Speaker,  that  I  was  one  of  the  Con- 
gressional committee  appointed  to  attend  his  funeral  at  his 
home  in  Waynesville,  amid  the  mountains  of  the  old  North 
State — among  the  people  who  knew  him  best.  The  scenes 
witnessed  there  constitute  a ,  triumphant  refutation  of  the 
cynical  proverb,  "Familiarity  breeds  contempt."  We  were 
among  the  familiars  of  James  Montr  aville  Moody — his 
kindred,  his  neighbors,  his  political  supporters,  his  political 
opponents.  There  was  no  trace  of  contempt.  There  were 
indubitable  signs  of  affection  and  grief  on  every  hand. 

The  rich,  the  poor,  the  old,  the  young,  white  and  black, 
male  and   female  were   there    by  the  thousand,   and  the  only 


Address  of  Mr.  Clark,  of  Missouri.  39 

feeling"  among  those  mountaineers  was  pride  in  the  dead  Con- 
gressman, sorrow  for  their  departed  friend.  All  the  preachers 
of  the  town  participated  in  the  funeral  proceedings,  and  he 
was  followed  to  the  grave  by  the  uniformed  societies  of  the 
county  and  by  a  vast  concourse  of  weeping  constituents. 

It  may  be  doubted  if  in  this  wide,  wide  world  there  is  a 
more  beautiful  or  picturesque  spot  than  the  place  where  Mr. 
Moody  sleeps  his  final  sleep.  The  mountains  which  he  loved 
so  well  stand  mute  sentinels  about  his  grave.  There  we  laid 
him  to  rest  to  await  the  final  summons  which  will  call  the 
quick  and  the  dead  to  the  judgment  bar  of  God. 


40  Life  and  Character  of  James  M.  Moody 


Address  of  Mr.  Johnson,  of  South  Carolina. 

Mr.  Speaker:  It  is  fitting  that  we  should  pause  amid  the 
pressing  duties  of  the  closing  hours  of  the  session  to  pay 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  one  of  our  fellow-members  who  has 
been  taken  from  the  scene  of  his  labors  by  the  remorseless 
hand  of  Death. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  people  of  mountainous  sections 
of  country  are  remarkable  for  their  intensity  of  feeling,  their 
love  of  independence  and  liberty,  their  generosity  and  hospital- 
ity, and  their  want  of  hypocrisy.  The  story  of  William  Tell 
and  the  deeds  of  Robert  Bruce  are  immortal  tributes  to  the 
character  of  all  mountain  peoples.  They  are  the  most  loyal 
people  in  the  world.  If  they  are  your  friends  you  need  never 
doubt  their  fidelity,  and  if  they  are  your  enemies  they  never 
attempt  to  deceive  you. 

Such  are  the  people  of  western  North  Carolina,  and  JAMES 
M.  Moody  truly  represented  them,  not  only  upon  the  floor  of 
this  House,  where  he  was  always  their  able  and  faithful 
champion,  but  he  represented  them  as  a  man.  Those  who 
opposed  him  knew  that  he  was  actuated  always  by  the  high- 
est and  purest  motives,  and  those  who  labored  with  him  knew 
that  he  never  tried  to  deceive  an  opponent.  The  crags  and 
peaks  of  the  Blue  Ridge  .stand  like  everlasting  monuments 
to  the  native  honesty  of  his  warm  and  generous  heart. 

As  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Agriculture  he  was  in 
a  position  to  serve  his  constituents  in  a  substantial  way,  and 
his  service  was  always  at  the  command  of  his  people.  No 
member  of  the  House  was  more  deeply  interested  in  the 
proposed  Appalachian  Forest  Reserve  than  was   Mr.   Moody, 


Address  of  Mr.  Johnson ,  of  North  Carolina.  41 

because  that  measure  was  of  more  importance  to  his  people 
than  any  other  that  has  been  before  this  Congress.  Not 
only  the  people  of  his  own  Congressional  district,  but  all  the 
millions  who  dwell  between  the  mountains  and  the  sea  are 
indebted  to  him  for  his  untiring  efforts  in  support  of  this 
measure  which  is  of  such  vast  importance  to  them. 

Of  course  no  words  that  any  member  of  this  Congress 
could  utter  would  lessen  the  grief  of  the  stricken  wife  and 
children,  but  it  ma)T  be  some  consolation  to  them  to  know 
that  he  was  honored  among  those  with  whom  he  labored, 
and  who  knew  the  nature  of  his  duties,  and  the  manner  in 
which  he  performed  them.  He  was  in  the  midst  of  his  man- 
hood, and  at  his  post  of  duty,  when  Death,  which  must  come 
sooner  or  later  to  each  one  of  us,  came  rapping  at  his  door, 
and  he  has  crossed  over  the  river,  as  we  all  hope  and  believe, 
to  begin  the  better  life. 

There  is  no  death!     The  stars  go  down 

To  rise  upon  some  other  shore, 
And  bright  in  Heaven's  jeweled  crown 

They  shine  forevermore. 

There  is  no  death!     The  forest  leaves 

Convert  to  life  the  viewless  air; 
The  rocks  disorganize  to  feed 

The  hungry  moss  they  bear. 

There  is  no  death !     The  dust  we  tread 

Shall  change  beneath  the  summer  showers 

To  golden  grain  or  mellow  fruits 
Or  rainbow-tinted  flowers. 

There  is  no  death!     The  leaves  may  fall, 

The  flowers  may  fade  and  pass  away — 
They  only  wait  through  wintry  hours 

The  warm,  sweet  breath  of  May. 


42  Life  and  Character  of  James  M.  Moody 


Address  of  Mr.  Blackburn,  of  North  Carolina, 

Mr.  Speaker:  Another  passenger  is  cast  upon  the  echoless 
shore.  One  of  our  comrades  is  gone.  Time's  relentless  tide 
heaves  unceasingly,  and  back  from  the  cruel  breakers  of  the 
great  unknown  comes  no  message.  Moody  of  North  Carolina 
has  joined  the  innumerable  hosts  and  answers  to  the  roll  call  of 
another  house.  The  stillness  of  the  grave  shrouds  in  silent 
mystery  all  that  was  mortal  of  our  contemporary.  His  seat  is 
vacant  and  the  work  he  was  seemingly  chosen  to  do  remains 
unfinished.  He  goes  out  and  is  among  us  no  more.  His  stal- 
wart manhood  succumbed  to  the  cruel  edicts  of  fate  and  we 
know  him  only  for  what  he  was.  His  sudden  taking  off  is  a 
sad  reminder  that  to  us  all  death  comes  soon  or  late.  His  work, 
only  begun,  remains  as  an  earnest  of  what  his  genius  might 
have  accomplished  had  he  been  spared  a  little  while  longer.  In 
his  brief  career,  to  those  who  knew  him  well,  are  many  traits 
of  character  we  might  well  emulate.  Born  in  western  North 
Carolina  in  February,  1858,  remote  from  the  centers  of 
population  and  the  advantages  of  educational  facilities,  he 
accomplished  much  more  than  most  of  us.  His  parents  were 
poor,  but  gave  to  him  as  an  heritage  those  sterling  qualities  of 
manhood  and  integrity  which  make  themselves  felt,  whether  in 
the  remote  sections  of  our  great  land  or  the  greatest  centers  of 
intelligence.  From  the  lofty  peaks  among  which  he  spent  his 
childhood  he  gathered  inspiration  and  drank  in  the  deep  drafts 
of  worthy  ambition. 

His  early  life  was  not  unlike  that  of  the  many  hundreds  of 
whom  he  was  one,  but  his  young  soul  was  not  content  with  the 
mere  humdrum,  and  life  held  for  him  greater  charms  and  the 
future  rare  prizes,  won  by  those  only  who  have  the  energy  to 
seek  and  the  ability  to  acquire.      In  the  simple  surroundings  of 


Address  of  Mr.  Blackburn,  of  North  Carolina.  43 

his  childhood  there  was  no  trail  to  direct  him,  but  his  genius 
blazed  the  path,  and  Moody's  ambition  and  energy  built  the 
highway  which  identified  him  with  the  legislation  of  his  State 
and  nation  ere  he  had  reached  the  noontide  of  life.      In  early 
years  he  studied  law,  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  practiced  in 
the  town  of  Waynesville,  N.  C,  from  which  point  he  was  soon 
able  to  reach  out  and  make  himself  felt  in  all  the  important 
litigation  of  the  entire  district,  which  he  afterwards  represented 
on  the  floor  of  this  Chamber.     In   1884  he  was  elected  mayor 
of  his  town.     In  1886  he  was  elected  solicitor  of  his  district,  and 
served  the  people  and  State  with  considerate  and  marked  ability. 
In  1892  the  Republican  State  convention  nominated  him  for 
lieutenant-governor  of  North  Carolina,  and  he  canvassed  the 
State  for  his  principles  and  party  in  his  own  forceful  and  digni- 
fied way.     Two  years  later  he  went  to  the  legislature  of  North 
Carolina,  representing  the  interest  of  his  people  and  maintaining 
the  principles  of  his  party  with  all  the  energy  and  force  of  his 
broad  nature.     When  the  Spanish  war  was  upon  us,  President 
McKinley  honored  him  with  a  commission  of  major  in  the  ranks 
of  the  volunteer  forces  of  our  Army,  where  he  remained  until 
the  protocol  was  signed  and  peace  declared.     November  6,  1900, 
found  him  Congressman-elect  from  the  Ninth  North  Carolina 
district,  in  which  position  he  served  his  remaining  days.     His 
people  loved  him  as  their  own.     Their  every  wish  was  his;  his 
very  interest  theirs.      He  served  them  with  a  devotion  both 
interesting  and  pathetic,  and  his  untimely  taking  off  was  to 
them  as  deep  a  regret  as  to  us  a  surprise  and  pain. 

In  disposition  he  was  amiable  and  kind,  in  decision  firm,  in 
all  things  honest,  at  all  times  sympathetic,  ever  manly.  One  of 
nature's  own  noblemen,  he  spent  his  life  in  sunshine  and  the 
accomplishment  of  good.  Born  and  reared  in  one  of  nature's 
great  amphitheaters,  surrounded  by  lofty  peaks  and  uprising 
hills,  he  learned  her  lessons  and  taught  her  philosophy.     His 


44  Life  and  Character  of  James  M.  Moody. 

mind  reached  beyond  the  narrow  limits  of  district  and  State 
lines  and  his  one  object  was  the  welfare  of  onr  common  country. 
Against  conditions  sterile  and  uninviting  in  his  beginning,  he 
staked  his  manhood,  and  ere  the  brief  lapse  of  one  generation's 
history  he  had  written  his  name  upon  the  permanent  records  of 
his  country.  By  sheer  force  of  character,  good-fellowship, 
generous  nature,  and  kind  thought  beyond  the  range  of  those 
about  him,  he  was  leader.  The  world  looks  for  men  to  do 
things;  when  the  time  came  Moody  was  there.  In  politics  he 
was  a  Republican,  but  the  bitterest  foe  in  political  strife  would 
not  dare  suggest  aught  against  his  character,  manhood,  integ- 
rity, or  broad  generosity. 

He  fought  for  what  he  conceived  to  be  right,  upon  that 
broad  plane  which  guarantees  at  all  times  the  right  to  think 
and  act  as  we  deem  best.  He  had  delved  in  the  darkness  and 
emerged  into  light.  Out  of  the  crude  he  molded  order,  and 
with  all  he  found  generous  friendship.  He  was  primarily  one 
of  the  people.  Up  from  the  simple  walks  of  life  he  forged  his 
course,  never  forgetting  the  route  by  which  he  came  or  those 
met  upon  the  way.  In  his  walk  there  was  no  boast  of  her- 
aldry or  pomp  of  power,  but  the  genuine  simplicity  of  a  nature 
true  to  itself  and  those  about  it.  The  glamour  of  pompous 
show  appealed  in  vain  to  his  sturdy  mind,  and  he  lived  as  he 
was,  one  of  the  great  mass.  From  the  barefoot  boy  of  a  few 
brief  summers  gone  he  had  emerged  into  the  lawyer,  the 
legislator,  the  statesman,  and  in  this  Hall  we  knew  him  as 
a  representative  of  his  people,  laboring  at  all  times  for  their 
welfare  and  their  good. 

The  measure  of  greatness  is  not  so  much  what  is  done  as  the 
means  by  which  it  is  accomplished.  In  the  affairs  of  this  life  it 
is  ordinarily  results  that  count,  and  vastly  greater  is  the  genius 
of  the  architect  who  builds  the  structure  of  material  of  his  own 
mold  than  he  who  places  together  that  which  is  already  prepared 


Address  of  Mr.  Blackburn,  of  North   Carolina.  45 

by  some  one  else.  Of  the  first  class  was  Moody.  He  had 
hewn  his  own  timber,  molded  his  own  fastenings,  and  erected 
his  own  structure.  How  well  he  did  it  the  history  of  his  conn- 
try  and  people  will  tell.  Struck  down  in  the  vigor  of  manhood, 
the  beginning  of  permanent  usefulness,  we  can  but  speculate 
his  future  career  and  mourn  his  sad  demise.  He  was  here 
in  season  and  out  of  season  for  the  people  who  trusted  him 
and  loved  him,   and  their  confidence  he  never  abused. 

With  ceaseless  energy  he  had  labored  for  the  fulfillment  of 
his  one  dream.  The  Appalachian  Park  was  his  hope,  and 
upon  its  establishment  he  had  set  his  heart.  With  patience 
and  anxiety  he  awaited  the  opportune  hour  to  tell  his  people 
that  his  work  was  completed,  but  it  never  came.  The  pale 
horse  and  his  rider  passed  this  way  and  another  light  went 
out.  Those  of  us  still  here  bow  to  the  will  of  Him  who  holds 
us  in  the  hollow  of  His  hand  and  doeth  all  things  well,  and 
await  with  simple  resignation  the  final  call.  This  day  we 
dedicate  to  the  memory  of  those  who  have  preceded  us. 
Moody's  name  we  call  with  reverence;  true  as  a  friend,  kind 
and  patient  as  a  husband,  indulgent  as  a  father,  honest  as  a 
citizen  and  legislator,  we  pay  to  him  this  last  rite,  extend  to  his 
community,  friends,  and  bereaved  family  our  deepest  sympathy, 
and  record  it  upon  the  pages  of  our  country's  history. 
For  him  no  more  the  blazing  hearth  shall  burn, 

Or  busy  housewife  ply  her  evening  care; 
No  children  run  to  lisp  their  sire's  return. 
Or  climb  his  knee,  the  envied  kiss  to  share. 
All  that  was    mortal    of   him  we    have   laid   to   rest  in  the 
silent   churchyard   among  his   native    hills.     There   he   sleeps 
silently,  peacefully,  in  the  bosom  of  his  country  and  his  God, 
awaiting  his  final  summons  and  eternal  reward. 

And  then  (at  4  o'clock  and  25  minutes  p.  m.),  in  pursuance 
of  the  resolntions,  and  as  a  further  mark  of  respect  to  the 
memory  of  the  deceased  members,  the  House  adjourned. 


Proceedings  in  the  Senate. 

February  6,  1903. 
message  from  the  house. 

The  message  further  communicated  to  the  Senate  the 
intelligence  of  the  death  of  Hon.  James  Montravilee 
Moody,  late  a  Representative  from  the  State  of  North  Car- 
olina, and  transmitted  resolutions  of  the  House  thereon. 

The  message  also  announced  that  the  Speaker  of  the  House 
had  appointed  Mr.  Kluttz,  of  North  Carolina;  Mr.  Blackburn, 
of  North  Carolina;  Mr.  Claude  Kitchin,  of  North  Carolina; 
Mr.  Brownlow,  of  Tennessee;  Mr.  Gibson,  of  Tennessee;  Mr. 
Tate,  of  Georgia;  Mr.  Finley,  of  South  Carolina;  Mr.  John- 
son, of  South  Carolina;  Mr.  Lamb,  of  Virginia;  Mr.  Haugen, 
of  Iowa;  Mr.  Henry,  of  Connecticut;  Mr.  Randell,  of  Texas; 
Mr.  Cooney,  of  Missouri;  Mr.  Pou,  of  North  Carolina;  Mr. 
Small,  of  North  Carolina;  Mr.  Clark,  of  Missouri;  Mr.  Wright, 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  Mr.  Cochran,  of  Missouri,  members  of 
the  committee  on  the  part  of  the  House  to  attend  the  funeral 
of  the  deceased  Representative. 

DEATH    OF    REPRESENTATIVE    JAMES    M.    MOODY. 

Mr.  Simmons.  I  ask  the  Chair  to  lay  before  the  Senate  the 
resolutions  from  the  House  of  Representatives  relative  to  the 
death  of  my  colleague  in  that  body. 

The  President  pro  tempore.  The  Chair  lays  before  the 
Senate  resolutions  of  the  House,  which  will  be  read. 

47 


48  Life  and  Character  of  James  M.  Moody. 

The  Secretary  read  the  resolutions,  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  the-  House  of  Representatives  has  learned  with  profound 
sorrow  of  the  death  of  the  Hon.  JAMES  Moxtrayille  Moody,  member  of 
this  House  from  the  State  of  North  Carolina. 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  members  of  the  House,  with  such  mem- 
bers of  the  Senate  as  may  be  joined,  be  appointed  to  take  order  concerning 
the  funeral  of  the  deceased. 

Resolved,  That  the  Clerk  communicate  these  resolutions  to  the  Senate, 
and  transmit  a  copy  of  the  same  to  the  family  of  the  deceased. 

Resolved,  That  as  a  further  mark  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  the 
deceased,  the  House  do  now  adjourn. 

Mr.  Simmons.  Mr.  President,  later  a  number  of  Senators 
will  submit  remarks  to  the  Senate  on  the  life  and  character  of 
the  deceased.  For  the  present  the  resolutions  of  the  House 
may  lie  on  the  table,  and  I  ask  unanimous  consent  for  the 
adoption  of  the  resolutions  which  I  send  to  the  desk. 

The  President  pro  tempore.  The  Senator  from  North  Caro- 
lina submits  resolutions,  which  will  be  read. 

The  Secretary  read  the  resolutions,  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  the  Senate  has  heard  with  deep  sensibility  the  announce- 
ment of  the  death  of  Hon.  James  M.  Moody,  late  a  Representative  from 
the  State  of  North  Carolina. 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  five  Senators  be  appointed  by  the  Presi- 
dent pro  tempore,  to  join  the  committee  appointed  on  the  part  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  to  take  order  for  superintending  the  funeral  of 
the  deceased. 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  communicate  these  resolutions  to  the 
House  of  Representatives. 

The  President  pro  tempore.  The  question  is  on  agreeing 
to  the  resolutions. 

The  resolutions  were  unanimously  agreed  to. 

The  President  pro  tempore  appointed  as  the  committee 
under  the  second  resolution  Mr.  Pritchard,  Mr.  Simmons,  Mr. 
Clark,  of  Wyoming;  Mr.  Dietrich,  and  Mr.  Heitfeld. 

Mr.  Simmons.  Mr.  President,  I  move,  as  a  further  mark  of 
respect  to  the  memory  of  the  deceased,  that  the  Senate  do 
now  adjourn. 


Preceedings  in  the  Senate.  49 

The  motion  was  unanimously  agreed  to;  and  (at  3  o'clock 
and  18  minutes  p.  m. )  the  Senate  adjourned  until  to-mor- 
row, Saturday,  February  7,  1903,  at   12  o'clock  meridian. 

February  23,  1903. 

message  from  the  house. 

The  message    further   communicated  to   the  Senate  resolu- 
tions  passed    by  the   House   commemorative  of    the   life  and 
services  of  Hon.  James  Montr aville  Moody,  late  a  Repre- 
sentative from  the  State  of  North  Carolina. 
H.  Doc.  466 4 


MEMORIAL  ADDRESSES. 

March  i,  1903. 

Mr.  PritCHARD.  Mr.  President,  I  ask  that  the  resolutions 
from  the  House  of  Representatives  commemorative  of  the  life 
and  character  of  Hon.  James  M.  Moody,  late  a  member  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  from  the  State  of  North 
Carolina,  may  be  laid  before  the  Senate. 

The  President  pro  tempore.  The  Chair  lays  before  the 
Senate  the  resolutions  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  which 
will  be  read. 

The  Secretary  read  the  resolutions,  as  follows: 

In  the  House  of  Representatives, 

February  22,  1903. 

Resolved,  That  in  pursuance  of  the  special  order  heretofore  adopted 
the  House  proceed  to  pay  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  Hon.  James 
Montraviixe  Moody,  late  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
from  the  State  of  North  Carolina. 

Resolved,  That  as  a  particular  mark  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  the 
deceased,  and  in  recognition  of  his  eminent  abilities  as  a  faithful  and  dis- 
tinguished public  servant,  the  House,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  memorial 
proceedings,  shall  stand  adjourned. 

Resolved,  That  the  Clerk  communicate  these  resolutions  to  the  Senate. 
Resolved,  That  the  Clerk  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  instructed  to  send  a  copy 
of  these  resolutions  to  the  family  of  the  deceased. 

Mr.  Pritchard.  Mr.  President,  I  offer  the  resolutions 
which  I  send  to  the  desk. 

The  President  pro  tempore.  The  resolutions  submitted 
by  the  Senator  from  North  Carolina  will  be  read. 

51 


52  Life  and  Character  of  James  M.  Moody. 

The  Secretary  read  the  resolutions,  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  the  Senate  has  heard  with  profound  sorrow  the  an- 
nouncement of  the  death  of  Hon.  James  M.  Moody,  late  a  Representative 
from  the  State  of  North  Carolina. 

Resolved,  That  the  business  of  the  Senate  be  now  suspended,  in  order 
that  fitting  tribute  be  paid  to  his  memory. 

Resolved,  That  as  an  additional  mark  of  respect  the  Senate,  at  the 
conclusion  of  these  ceremonies,  do  adjourn. 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  communicate  these  resolutions  to  the 
House  of  Representatives. 


Address  of  Mr.  Pritchard,  of  North   Carolina.  53 


Address  of  Mr.  Pritcharp,  of  North  Carolina, 

Mr.  President:  James  Montraville  Moody  was  born 
in  Cherokee  County,  N.  C,  February  12,  1858,  and  died 
at  his  home  in  Waynesville  on  February  5,  1903.  He  left 
surviving  him  a  wife  and  six  children,  the  eldest,  a  lad 
of   16,  inheriting  his  father's  name. 

When  Mr.  Moody  was  2  years  of  age  his  parents  moved 
to  Jonathans  Creek,  Haywood  County,  where  he  was  reared 
and  where  he  lived  until  his  majority.  In  his  youth  he 
worked  on  the  farm  and  went  to  school  until  he  acquired 
such  education  as  the  local  schools  could  give.  Afterwards 
he  continued  to  labor  on  the  farm,  using  the  means  thus 
obtained  to  defray  his  expenses  while  attending  Waynesville 
Academy  and  Candler  College. 

He  read  law  under  Judges  W.  B.  Ferguson  and  W.  L> 
Norwood,  and  was  licensed  as  a  practicing  attorney  by  the 
supreme  court  of  North  Carolina  at  the  January  term,  1881, 
and  immediately  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  profession 
at  Waynesville,  where  he  resided  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He 
was  mayor  of  Waynesville  in  1885,  and  was  elected  solicitor  of 
the  twelfth  judicial  district  in  1886.  He  was  the  candidate 
of  his  party  for  lieutenant-governor  in  1892.  He  was  elected 
to  the  State  senate  in  1894,  and  was  commissioned  as  a  major 
in  the  volunteer  service  of  the  United  States  during  the  Spanish- 
American  war  in  1898,  and  assigned  to  duty  on  the  staff  of 
Maj.  Gen.  J.  Warren  Keifer,  and  by  his  manly  bearing  and 
conscientious  discharge  of  duty  won  the  confidence  and  esteem 
of  the  officers  and  men  with  whom  he  served  and  the  lasting 
personal  friendship  of  General  Keifer.      In  1900  he  was  elected 


54  Life  a?id  Character  of  fames  M.  Moody. 

a  member  of  the  Fifty-seventh  Congress  of  the  United  States 
from  the  Ninth  Congressional  district,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death  was  a  contestant  for  a  seat  in  the  next  House.  Mr. 
Moody  was  a  good  lawyer,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  was 
quite  distinguished  in  the  criminal  branch  of  his  profession. 
His  life  was  in  the  main  a  successful  one  and  was  wholly  free 
from  stain.  Those  who  knew  him  best  valued  him  highest. 
He  was  a  son  of  nature,  and  the  mountaineers  among  whom  he 
was  bred  rallied  to  him  in  every  crisis  of  his  career  by  a  kind  of 
magnetic  attraction.  The  humblest  constituent  felt  free  to 
address  him  by  his  Christian  name  unmarked  by  any  prefix 
whatsoever.  Of  humble  extraction,  he  raised  himself  into  a 
higher  sphere  without  any  false  dignity  derived  from  his  new 
associations.  Like  Vance,  Swain,  Merrimon,  Woodfin,  and 
other  notable  men  of  the  western  section  of  my  State,  Mr. 
Moody  was  cabin-born,  and  he  continued  to  be  cabin-loving 
after  reaching  preferment  in  another  circle.  Like  those  men, 
he  had  that  intense  love  for  his  mountain  home  which,  I  think, 
distinguishes  all  born  under  such  surroundings.  In  life  and  in 
death  he  continued  to  be  of  the  "plain  people,"  as  Mr.  Lincoln 
called  our  yeomanry,  meaning  it  to  be,  as  it  was,  the  language 
of  affection.  Mr.  Moody  was  a  man  of  stalwart  physique,  in 
the  very  noon  of  life,  and  enjoying  until  recently  the  fullness 
of  health,  hence  his  death  came  as  a  shock  to  his  friends,  his 
constituents,  his  party.  He  was  a  most  devoted  Republican, 
exhibiting  at  all  times  strong  and  unflinching  convictions. 
And  yet  he  maintained  throughout  repeated  campaigns  the 
respect  of  his  opponents,  and  died  with  the  good  will  of  all  men. 
The  legislature  of  his  native  State  adjourned  in  honor  of  his 
memory,  after  taking  suitable  action  to  preserve  it,  although  a 
very  large  majority  of  its  members  were  active  partisans  of 
a  different  political  faith. 


Address  of  Mr.  Pritchard,  of  North   Carolina.  55 

His  funeral  was  largely  attended  by  Iiis  friends  and  neigh- 
bors, who  were  anxious  to  show  their  respect  for  the  memory 
of  one  whom  the}-  had  known  from  his  earliest  childhood.  I 
am  told  that  his  end  was  peaceful;  that  he  faced  his  higher 
destiny  with  unabashed  brow  and  saw  the  seals  of  his  fate 
unrolled  without  fear.  He  had  his  faults,  but  against  his  fail- 
ings he  made  fight,  manful  fight,  and  if  he  but  partl5'  won  let 
us  leave  the  unfinished  fight,  as  he  did,  to  a  stronger  arm  and 
a  brighter  intelligence. 

Mr.  President,  perhaps  the  most  worthy  service  rendered  by 
my  deceased  friend,  and  one  with  which  his  name  will  be  hon- 
orably connected  in  the  coming  years,  was  his  labor  in  behalf 
of  the  Appalachian  Park  Reserve.  To  that  enterprise  he  gave 
the  best  energies  of  brain  and  body.  It  was  nearest  his  heart 
to  the  day  when  he  was  stricken  with  the  fearful  summons  to 
lay  aside  his  work  on  earth.  That  his  fondest  hope  in  behalf 
of  that  truly  national  project  wrill  yet  find  fulfillment  I  have 
never  permitted  myself  to  doubt.  The  magnificent  territory 
between  the  Blue  Ridge  and  the  Alleghanies,  stretching 
through  several  of  our  finest  Atlantic  States,  giving  nurture  to 
the  streams  wrhich  later  become  national  highways,  crowned 
with  the  loftiest  watersheds  of  the  East,  and  adorned  with  such 
flora  as  no  other  temperate  zone  can  show,  is  destined  under 
God  to  be  the  pleasure  ground  of  half  the  continent. 

When  that  reasonable  and  worthy  hope  is  realized  I  fancy  a 
sweeter  sleep  will  steal  over  him  whom  we  have  lately  laid  to 
rest.  I  fancy  some  kind  ministering  messenger  will  be  sent 
to  give  him  word  that  his  last  work  on  earth  was  not  wholly 
fruitless. 


56  Life  and  Character  of  James  M,  Moody 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  MALLORY,  OF  FLORIDA. 

Mr.  President:  It  is  a  natural  impulse  that  prompts  those 
who,  by  association  or  observation,  have  learned  the  intrinsic 
merit  of  one  who  has  closed  a  life  of  usefulness,  to  pay  such 
tribute  as  can  be  conveyed  by  our  inadequate  powers  of  ex- 
pression, to  the  memory  of  such  a  career.  When  Death  has 
placed  his  imprimatur  on  the  last  chapter  of  our  little  earthly 
life  story,  and  what  we  have  done  for  good  or  ill  has  thereby 
become  fixed  forever,  a  part  of  our  irrevocable  and  unamend- 
able  record,  it  is  eminently  proper  that  not  only  those  who 
have  the  incentive  of  personal  affection,  but  that  those  who 
in  the  casual  intercourse  of  a  strenuous  existence  have  had 
occasion  to  note  exceptional  and  shining  traits  in  the  character 
and  career  of  one  who  has  passed  away  forever,  should  also 
put  in  as  permanent  a  shape  as  possible  the  results  of  their 
observation.  This  impulse  ought  to  have,  and  generally  does 
have,  with  the  thoughtful,  a  higher  and  nobler  inspiration 
than  that  which  evolved  the  maxim  of  the  ancients  which 
enjoined  naught  but  good  when  speaking  of  the  dead. 
Example  is  the  most  potent  of  preceptors.  The  object  lesson 
is  the  most  impressive  method  of  reaching  the  understanding 
and  shaping  the  inclination  of  the  young,  and  the  oftener  we 
can  present  to  their  plastic  minds  authentic  illustrations  of 
character  which  of  itself  conquers  adverse  environment,  rises 
to  eminence  by  its  innate  merit  and  wins  the  respect  and 
esteem  of  good  men  and  women,  the  greater  the  probability 
of  our  inspiring  those  who  are  to  follow  us  with  a  zealous 
purpose  of  emulating  such  virtue. 


Address  of  Mr.  Mallorw  of  Florida.  57 

The  life  story  of  James  Montrayillk  Moody  is  sufficiently 
striking  to  justify  us  in  essaying  to  preserve  it  from  oblivion. 
Born  among  the  mountains  of  western  North  Carolina  Febru- 
ary 12,  185S,  he  died  one  week  before  his  forty-fifth  birthday, 
on  February  5,  1903.  The  illness  which  ended  his  life  began 
here  in  Washington,  but  did  not  prove  fatal  until  after  his 
arrival  at  his  home  in  YVaynesville,  where  he  breathed  his 
last,  surrounded  by  his  wife  and  six  children,  the  eldest  of 
whom,  a  boy,  is   16  years  of  age. 

Like  most  of  the  people  of  that  part  of  North  Carolina, 
young  Moody's  parents,  during  his  boyhood,  were  in  very 
moderate  circumstances,  and  for  a  number  of  years  his  attend- 
ance at  the  local  school  was  made  subordinate  to  his  attention 
to  farm  work.  As  he  grew  older  and  began  to  develop  the 
splendid  physique  which  in  the  full  flower  of  manhood  made, 
him  a  most  striking  figure,  he  worked  industriously  on  a  farm 
until  he  had  accumulated  means  enough  wherewith  to  pay  his 
schooling  at  the  Waynesville  Academy  for  two  years  and  to 
place  him  at  Candler  College  in  North  Carolina,  where  he 
remained  one  year.  Having  thus  acquired  a  fairly  good  educa- 
tion, he  returned  to  Waynesville,  and  while  maintaining  himself 
there  studied  law  'and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1881.  In 
1886  he  had  by  his  industry  and  ability  so  impressed  the  people 
of  the  twelfth  judicial  district  that  they  elected  him  prose- 
cuting attorney  for  that  district,  which  position  he  filled  for 
four  years  with  credit  to  himself  and  advantage  to  the  State. 

In  1S94  he  was  elected  to  the  State  senate  of  North  Carolina 
for  two  years,  and  continued  the  practice  of  law  until  the 
beginning  of  the  recent  war  with  Spain,  when  he  volunteered 
and  served  throughout  that  war  on  the  staff  of  Gen.  J.  Warren 
Keifer  as  major  and  commissary.  In  November,  1900,  he 
was    elected    on    the    Republican    ticket   to    the  Fifty-seventh 


58  Life  and  Character  of  James  M.  Moody. 

Congress  from  the  Ninth  Congressional  district  of  North 
Carolina,  which  position  he  was  filling  at  the  time  of  his 
death. 

The  characteristic  feature  of  this  brief  record  of  his  career  is 
his  purpose  and  unremitting  effort  to  advance  himself  in  obedi- 
ence to  the  promptings  of  an  honorable  ambition.  It  is  difficult 
for  one  unacquainted  with  the  conditions  that  environed  his 
youth  to  appreciate  the  depressing,  almost  insurmountable  ob- 
stacles with  which  he  had  to  contend  in  his  progress  upward. 
The  region  in  which  his  youth  was  passed  was  isolated  from 
the  busy,  bustling  world  by  the  rugged  ramparts  of  the  Appa- 
lachian Range,  and  to  a  certain  extent  was  a  terra  incognita 
even  to  the  people  of  other  sections  of  North  Carolina.  Hard 
conditions  and  hard  living  were  the  rule,  and  the  young  men 
of  that  section  who  aspired  to  rise  unaided  to  commanding 
positions  in  the  eyes  of  the  people  of  any  considerable  part  of 
the  State  could  not  well  exaggerate  the  seriousness  of  the 
undertaking.  But  young  Moody  was  of  a  material  as  rugged 
and  unyielding  as  the  blue-hazed  mountains  that  from  his 
infancy  had  shut  in  his  horizon  from  the  outer  world.  An 
early  taste  for  reading  had  developed  in  him  aspirations  and 
ideals  which  the  narrow  sphere  in  which  he  moved  and  the 
hard  conditions  in  which  his  lot  seemed  to  have  been  cast  would 
alone  have  scarcely  justified.  But  the  fever  of  a  noble  ambi- 
tion was  in  his  blood,  and  with  eye  steadily  fixed  upon  the  goal 
at  which  he  aimed,  he  undauntedly  dedicated  himself  to  an 
unswerving  pursuit  of  the  difficult  upward  path  that  he  had 
elected  to  follow.  How  well  he  adhered  to  that  purpose  is 
amply  revealed  by  the  brief  recital  I  have  given  of  the  salient 
events  in  his  public  life. 

Among  his  people  those  elements  of  character  that  make  for 
strength,  truth,  and  justice  always  attract  attention,  and  when 


Add) ess  of  Mr.  Mallory,  of  Florida.  59 

tried  and  proven  they  never  fail  to  command  general  confidence 
and  favor.  Singularly  modest  and  unassuming,  of  manner  as 
gentle  as  a  woman,  and  with  a  heart  as  responsive  as  that  of  a 
child  to  the  griefs  of  others,  this  stalwart,  kindly  eyed  moun- 
taineer grappled  to  that  heart  with  hooks  of  steel  the  unre- 
served affection  of  all  who  came  in  intimate  contact  with  him. 
Yet  was  his  amiable  and  sympathetic  nature  untainted  by  any 
trace  of  weakness.  Never  self-assertive  in  nonessentials,  he 
was  as  unyielding  in  the  support  of  the  principles  in  which  he 
believed  as  the  basic  rocks  of  his  native  hills.  It  is  said  of  him 
by  those  who  best  knew  him  that  in  the  several  heated  political 
contests  in  which  he  actively  and  successfully  engaged  as  a 
principal  he  never  lost  a  friend  nor  made  an  enemy. 

It  would  be  strange  indeed  if  such  a  character,  so  steadfast 
and  true  in  the  observance  of  his  public  obligations,  should 
have  been  otherwise  than  a  devoted  husband  and  father.  He 
was  essentially  a  son  of  the  land  of  the  sky,  and,  like  the 
eagle,  he  fretted  and  chafed  when  exiled  from  his  mountain 
home.  To  him  his  modest  home  at  Waynesville  was  the  altar 
at  which  he  worshiped,  and  within  its  walls  were  enshrined 
the  objects  of  his  soul's  adoration.  It  was  his  fondest  hope 
to  give  to  his  children  advantages  which  he  had  been  denied, 
or  which,  at  best,  he  had  but  imperfectly  enjoyed,  and  with- 
out doubt  the  bitterest  pang  he  experienced,  when  realizing 
that  his  hours  on  earth  were  numbered,  was  in  the  thought 
that  those  loved  ones,  so  dependent  in  their  weakness,  should 
be  bereft  of  his  guiding  hand  and  sheltering  affection. 

The  spectacle  of  a  helpless  little  brood,  hushed  and  awe- 
stricken,  in  the  presence  of  a  calamity  so  dire,  the  enormity  of 
which  their  understanding  fails  fully  to  comprehend,  is  one  that 
we  are  constantly  called  on  to  witness;  but  witness  it  as  often 
as  we  may,  its  recurrence  never  fails  to  thrill  our  hearts  with 


60  Life  and  Character  of  James  M.  Moody. 

sympathetic  emotion  and  to  cause  us  to  marvel  at  the  mystery 
of  our  ways — 

That  are  never  all  in  darkness,  and  are  never  wholly  bright. 

Mr.  President,  there  exists  in  the  minds  of  many  worthy 
people  an  impression,  little  short  of  conviction,  that  active 
participation  in  political  life,  as  we  have  it  in  this  country,  is 
essentially  demoralizing,  and  that  the  man  who  devotes  himself 
to  the  pursuit  of  such  honors  and  distinction  as  constitute  its 
prizes   must    necessarily  suffer   more  or  less  moral  detriment. 

That,  unhappily,  there  have  been  instances  which  those  who 
make  this  contention  may  cite  in  its  support  will  not  be  denied, 
but  such  cases  are  relatively  rare,  and  certainly  can  not  justly 
cast  a  smirch  on  the  memory  or  reputation  of  the  many 
honored  names  that  adorn  our  political  history. 

That  political  life,  like  any  other  sphere  in  which  men 
contend  with  each  other,  presents  temptations,  which  embraced 
will  produce  demoralization,  is  undoubtedly  true,  but  that  such 
temptations  are  less  successfully  resisted  in  the  political  than 
in  other  fields  of  acute  human  contention  is  controverted  by 
the   observation   and  experience  of  every  unprejudiced   mind. 

The  life  and  career  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  illustrative 
of  this  view.  After  having  won  all  the  honors  for  which  he 
had  striven — and  his  political  contests  were  always  charac- 
terized by  energy  and  zealous  effort  on  both  sides — he  remained 
the  same  kindly,  unaffected  character,  the  same  frank,  honest, 
and  outspoken  exponent  of  truth  and  justice  that  he  was  when 
as  a  young  man  he  won  the  respect,  esteem,  and  devotion  of 
the  sturdy  mountaineers  with  whom  his  fortunes  were  cast. 
In  his  make-up  there  was  no  alloy,  no  baser  metal  that  could 
be  marred  by  the  corroding  touch  of  sordid  influences. 

A  modest,  unaffected  gentleman;  a  citizen  who  enjoyed  the 


Address  of  Mr.  Afallory,  of  Florida.  61 

confidence  and  personal  regard  of  all  classes  of  his  fellow- 
citizens;  a  patriot  who,  at  the  first  peal  of  the  dread  tocsin  of 
war,  stepped  to  the  front  with  sword  and  life  dedicated  to  his 
country's  cause;  a  Representative  of  his  people  in  the  nation's 
great  council,  justly  conservative,  but  ever  alert  to  the  interests 
of  his  constituency,  and  a  husband  and  father  most  devoted; 
his  life  story,  rounded  and  complete,  will  ever  be  an  inspiration 
to  those  who,  disheartened  by  repressive  conditions,  yet  aspire 
to  the  realization  of  loftier  ideals. 

The  President  pro  tempore.  The  question  is  on  agreeing 
to  the  resolutions  submitted  by  the  Senator  from  North  Caro- 
lina [Mr.  Pritchard] . 

The  resolutions  were  unanimously  agreed  to,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  one  relating  to  adjournment. 

o 


